The life of Samuel F.B. Morse, LL. D. inventor of the electro-magnetic recording telegraph

THE LIFE

OF

SAMUEL F. B. MORSE, LL D.

INYENTOR OF THE

ELECTRO-MAGNETIC RECORDING TELEGRAPH.

BY

SAMUEL IREN^EUS PRIME,

i<

PBESIDENT OF THE NEW YORK ASSOCIATION FOB THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE AND AET I

COEBESPONDING MEMBEB OF THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY;

AUTHOR OF "TRAVELS IN EUROPE AND THE EAST,"

"THE ALHAMBEA AND THE KREMLIN," ETC.

NEW YORK:
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY,

549 AND 551 BROADWAY.
1875.

TK -'

A/

Pi

ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874,

BY D. APPLETON & COMPACT,
In the Office <tf fee'iibrarii J5f C<Jng|ess, jit Washington.

PEE FACE.

IN his last will and testament Professor MOKSE gave to his
executors authority "to place his manuscripts in the hands of
some suitable person for the purpose of examining and using
the same in preparing a biographical or historical note," relating
to himself. The family of the great inventor and the executors
of his estate united in an urgent request that the author of this
volume would take charge of the papers and "prepare and
present to the public a biography of Professor Morse in such a
style that it would be generally read."

With great reluctance, and after repeated solicitations, I
consented to attempt the service. My studies and pursuits had
not qualified me for the task, and it would have been far more
in harmony with my wishes and judgment, had the work been
confided to other hands. But, having been associated with the
brothers of the Professor more than thirty years, and during
that time on terms of friendly and pleasing intercourse with
him, having heard from his own lips again and again the story
of his struggles and triumphs, I had some peculiar facilities to
understand and interpret the man. But I would have decisively
declined the honorable service assigned me, had I anticipated
the difficulties and labors it involved. During his lifetime
Professor Morse was often applied to for materials out of which
his biography might be prepared. To one of the applications
he replied by letter, " My time is so much absorbed in making

M73848

iv PREFACE.

my life, I have none to spare for writing It." And so literally
true is this remark, that, in the huge mass of manuscripts left by
him, there is not a page that appears to have been written with
the expectation that it would be employed in his biography.

If it were possible to compensate my lack of preparation, it
would be supplied by the remarkable ability, extent, and value
of the assistance which has been generously, and I may add
nobly, rendered by others. Professor E. "N. Horsford, at my
request, cheerfully prepared the admirably lucid and condensed
history of "Electro-Magnetic Science," and the measure of
Morse's indebtedness to his predecessors. The Hon. F. O. J.
Smith furnished the most important letters and memoranda of
the early years of the Telegraph. Colonel T. P. Shaifner put
at my service his vast telegraphic collections and illustrations.
Hon. Ezra Cornell, with his own hand, wrote for me his recol
lections of the construction of the experimental line from
"Washington to Baltimore. To the Hon. William Orton and to
George B. Prescott, Esq., I am indebted for those important
facts which bring the history of telegraphy down to the present
time. Robert G. Rankin, Esq., Benson J. Lossing, Esq., Gen
eral T. S. Cummings, Daniel Huntington, Esq., General James
Grant Wilson, Rev. Dr. Wheeler, and others, have contributed
sketches with incidents and observations that enliven and enrich
the volume.

The life of Professor Morse is very naturally divided into
three parts, to each of which has been assigned about one-third
of the volume. The first includes his career as an artist, which
was precisely one-half of his life. The second was employed
in the construction and establishment of the Telegraph, a period
of twelve years. The third and last presents the rewards
that he received, and the benefits he conferred upon mankind.
These portions of time have distinctive values and interest ;
combined, they form an epoch in the history of the human race.
Freely and thoroughly as the history of Morse and his work

PREFACE. V

has been sifted and searched by critics and courts, by friends
and foes, it was left for his biographer to discover and present
facts which explain with simplicity and ease the phenomenon
that an artist suddenly grasped the prof oundest secrets of sci
ence, and welded them into an invention to revolutionize the in
tercourse of the civilized world. We have learned that Samuel
F. B. Morse was a born inventor, with a genius for mechanism ;
that he invented machinery and secured patents long before he
made the Telegraph ; that his education and habits of thought,
his antecedents and associations, fitted him for the task ; and,
when the hour arrived, the instrument was ready and the work
was done ! This was at least the third of his mechanical and
scientific contributions. Electrical science was his favorite study
in college and afterward ; evidence of this is here given unknown
to himself as in existence. He propounded the idea of the
Electric Telegraph to familiar friends before he seriously under
took to make it practical. He wrought out his invention and
made it a mechanical, working instrument, doing all that it now
does, before any man, scientist or artisan, gave him a particle of
assistance. As the recording Telegraph is the sublimest of all
human agencies, so the conception and construction of the in
strument by a solitary, unaided man, mark it as one of the most
extraordinary facts in human progress.

Embarrassed by the wealth of material that would easily
have filled many volumes as large as this, and being compelled
by want of space to suppress hundreds of letters and documents
that would honor the memory of Professor Morse, I have con
scientiously executed a trust most reluctantly accepted. With
all its imperfections, with which no one can be made better ac
quainted than the author is already, the volume, with unfeigned
diffidence, but with confidence in its justice and truth, is com
mitted to the public.

S. I. P.
YOEK, July 8, 1874.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

MORSE.

Genealogy — Characteristics of Ancestors — His Grandfather Rev. Dr. Samuel Finley —
His Father Rev. Dr. Jedediah Morse — His Brothers Sidney Edwards and Richard
Gary Morse — Birth of Samuel F. B. Morse — Predictions . . .Pp. 1-12

CHAPTER II.

1791-1811.

Early Education — His School-mistress — Drawing with a Pin — At Grammar-school —
Yale College — President Dwight — Professors Day and Silliman — Studies in
Electricity — Germs of the Telegraph — Portrait-painting — Recollections by Fel
low-students 13-27

CHAPTER m.

1811-1815.

Washington Allston — Morse goes to London under his Tuition — The Voyage — Long
ings for a Telegraph — Benjamin West — Morse's Letters to his Parents — To a
Friend at Home — Impressions of West — Leslie the Painter — He and Morse be
come Room-mates — Samuel Taylor Coleridge — Triumphs of the Young Artist —
Meets with William Wilberforce, Henry Thornton, Zachary Macaulay, Lord
Glenelg, and Others — Visit at Mr. Thornton's — Intercourse with Coleridge —
Travels to Oxford, and Incidents — First Portrait abroad — Leslie and Morse —
Letters to his Parents — Zerah Colburn — Dartmoor Prisoners — Attempts to
serve them — Dunlap's Account of Morse — Dying Hercules — Judgment of Jupi
ter—Gold Medal— Mrs. Allston's Death— Scene at Mr. Wilberforce's— Return
Home 28-88

CHAPTER IV.

1815-1823.

Return to America — Opens a Studio in Boston— No Success — Invents Improvement
in Pump— Travels in Vermont and New Hampshire as Portrait-painter — Meets
his Future Bride — Pursues his Invention — Goes to Charleston, South Carolina —
Dr. Finley — Success — Allston'a Encouragement — Returns North — Marriage —

viii CONTENTS.

Charleston again — The Pump — W. Allston — Morse paints the Portrait of Pres
ident Monroe— Third Winter in Charleston— New Haven— Painting " House of
Representatives "—History of the Picture Pp. 89-126

CHAPTER V.

1823-1828.

Invents a Machine for cutting Marble — Goes to Albany — Little Success — Returns to
New York — Portrait of Chancellor Kent — Ichabod Crane — Arrangements to go
to Mexico as Attache to the Legation — Letter from Hon. Robert Y. Hayne —
The Scheme abandoned — In New Haven — Travels in New England — Settles in
New York — Commissioned to paint Portrait of General Lafayette — Goes to
Washington — Sudden Death of his Wife — Death of his Father — Founds the
National Academy of Design — Sketch-Club — Letter from General T. S. Cum-
mings — Lord Lyndhurst's Letter — Studies in Electro-magnetism — Professor
Dana's Lectures — His Own Lectures — Escape from Death . . 127-171

. , CHAPTER VI.

1829-1832.

Commissions to paint in Italy — Journey to Rome — Letter to his Cousin — England —
Paris — Avignon — Marseilles — Nice — The Cornice Road — Geneva — Pisa — Rome
— The Vatican — Galleries of Art — Notes — Thorwaldsen — Portrait — James Fen-
imore Cooper — H. Greenough — Letters — Return to Paris — Friendship with La
fayette — Sympathy with Poland — Imprisonment of Dr. Howe— Fall of Warsaw
— Letters to his Brother — Suggests Lightning-Telegraph — Humboldt — Presides
at Fourth-of-July Dinner — Letters of Lafayette — Interior of the Louvre — Hum
boldt and Morse — Dunlap's Notices of Morse in Paris and London . 172-250

CHAPTER VII.

1832.

Packet-ship Sully — Electro-magnetism — Dinner-table Conversation — Idea of the Tel
egraph — First Marks made — The Invention announced to Passengers — Draw
ings exhibited — Prediction to Captain Pell — Prof. E. N. Horsford's History of the
Science — Stephen Grey — Leyden Jar — Franklin's Experiments — Charles Mar
shall — Le Sage — Lomond — Reusser — Cavallo — Wedgewood — Ronalds — Dyar —
Galvanism, or Voltaism — Volta — Schweigger — Coxe — Magnetism — Electro-
magnetism — Ampere — Schilling — Cooke and Wheatstone — Oersted — Spiral
Coil, 1821 — Arago — Sturgeon — James Freeman Dana — Joseph Henry — Fech-
iner — Ohm's Law — Steinheil — Daniel — Soemmering — Samuel Finley Breese
Morse — Invention and Discovery — Claims of Discoverers and Inventors — Suc
cessive Steps in Telegraphic Invention 251-284

CHAPTER VIII.

1832-1838.

Arrival in New Yor'k — The Brothers' Testimony — Mould and Type the First Things
made for the Telegraph — Castings preserved — Struggles of the Inventor— Pov
erty and Distress — His Brothers' Sympathy and Aid — Making the Telegraphic

CONTENTS. ix

Instrument — At the Lathe — Faith in God and Himself — Rejected as One of the
Painters of a Picture for the Capitol — Artists' Sympathy — Elected Professor in
University of New York — Rooms in Building — Apparatus — Cooks his Own Food
in his Room — Announcement of his Invention — French Idea of Telegraph —
Professor Gale's Statement — Daniel Huntington — Hamilton Fish — Rev. Mr.
Seelye — Commodore Starbuck — Robert G. Rankin — Rev. Dr. H. B. Tappan —
Alfred Vail becomes a Partner — Letter to Secretary of Treasury — Secretary's
Report to Congress — Professor Gale a Partner — The Instrument at Speedwell —
Three Miles of Wire — Experiments — Exhibition in New York — Ten Miles of
Wire — First Dispatch preserved — Exhibited to the Franklin Institute — Report
— The Instrument in Washington — Exhibited to the President and Cabinet —
Hon. F. 0. J. Smith — Professor Morse's Letters to Mr. Smith — Report of Com
mittee of Commerce — Partnership with Mr. Smith — Letters to Vail — Prepara- /*
tions for a Journey to Europe Pp. 285-346

CHAPTER IX.

1838-1839.

Professor Morse goes to England— Application for Patent — Refusal — Reasons —
False Statement of an Official — Goes to Paris — Letters to his Daughter — Dr.
Kirk's Recollections — Arago — His Great Kindness — Exhibition before Academy
of Sciences — Baron Humboldt's Congratulations — Report upon it — Letters to
Friends — Hon. H. L. Ellsworth's Letters — Patent in France — Count Montalivet
— Professor Morse's Letters to Mr. Smith — Lord Lincoln's and Lord Elgin's
Interest in the Telegraph — Professor Morse goes to London — Exhibits the Tel
egraph at the House of Lord Lincoln 347-393

CHAPTER X.

1839-1843.

Return to New York — Russian Contract — Disappointment at Inaction of Congress —
Mr. Smith's Views of "the State of Things— The Daguerreotype introduced—
Experiments — Success — Teaches Others — Sully and Allston — Russia fails-
Deep Depression — Letter to his Partners Mr. A. Vail and Hon. F. 0. J. Smith-
Consultation with Professor Henry — Letters of Professor Henry— Struggles of
Morse under Poverty — Letters to Mr. Vail — An Agent employed at Washing
ton — Failure — An Old Sorrow — Hon. W. W. Boardman, M. C. — Letter to Hon.
F. 0. J. Smith on Professor Henry's Encouragement — First Submarine Cable
laid by Professor Morse — Report of American Institute — Hon. C. G. Ferris-
Letter to him — Professor Morse in Washington — Favorable Report in Con
gress — Debate — Passage of Bill in the House and the Senate appropriating
Thirty Thousand Dollars for an Experimental Line of Telegraph — Death of
Allston . . . . . . . . . . . . 394^472

CHAPTER XI.

1843-1844.

Preparations to lay the First Line — Use of Tubes underground — Ezra Cornell-
Tubes abandoned — Wires put upon Poles — Experiments with 160 Miles of
Wire — Professor Henry's Letter— Progress of the Work — National Whig Con-

x CONTENTS.

vention— Nomination of Henry Clay announced at Washington by Telegraph—
The Line complete— The First Message— Triumph of the Inventor— His Letter
to Bishop Stevens— National Democratic Convention— James K. Polk nom
inated—Conference with Silas Wright — Working of the Telegraph — Pro
fessor Morse's Report of the Completion of the Line — Enthusiasm of the
Press and the Public — Telegraph offered to the Government — Determining the
Longitude Pp. 473-509

CHAPTER XII.

1845.

Congress refuses Further Appropriations — Letter of Professor Morse to his Daughter
— Hon. Amos Kendall engaged as Agent — Formation of the Magnetic Telegraph
Company — Letters to Mr. Vail — Mr. Vail's Replies — Professor Morse goes
abroad — In London — General Commercial Telegraph Company — Hon. Louis
McLane — Professor Morse in Hamburg — Returns to London — Exhibitions of
the Telegraph in Hamburg, St. Petersburg, Berlin, and Vienna — Mr. Fleisch-
mann's Account of its Reception — Professor Morse in Paris — Arago — Exhibition
before Chamber of Deputies — Return to America . . . . 510-538

CHAPTER XIII.

1846-1847.

Extension of Patent — The Inventor's Claim — New Lines established — Sidney E.
Morse's Predictions — Report to the Postmaster-General — Artists' Petition —
Line between Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York — French Chambers
Debate — Letter to Arago — First Fruits — Smithsonian Institution — Professor
Henry appointed Secretary — Printing-Telegraph — Letter to Daniel Lord — Pi
ratical Invasions — Ocean-Telegraph 539-556

CHAPTER XIV.

RIVAL CLAIMS AND LAWSUITS.

Invasion of Patent-right — O'Rielly Contract — Injunction — Lawsuit in District Court
of Kentucky — Decision — Morse Patent sustained — Incidents of the Trial — Dis
tinguished Men engaged — Judge Pirtle's Epigram — The Case appealed — Su
preme Court of the United States sustains the Morse Patent — Opinion — French
and Rogers Case — Judge Kane's Opinion — Sustains Morse's Patent — House's
and Bain's Instruments — Dr. Jackson's Pretensions — Improvements in the Tel
egraphic Instrument — Extent and Value of the Telegraph Business — Morse
Instruments compared with Others — Western Union Telegraph Company —
William Orton— George B. Prescott— The World's Verdict— Only One System,
that of Morse. . . . ... .' . . . . 557-588

CHAPTER XV.

1847-1854. — REST AND REWARDS.

A Home at last — Purchase of a Country-seat and Farm at Poughkeepsie — Mar
riage—Social and Domestic Life — Love of Nature — Birds — His Neighbors' Es
teem — Letter to his Daughter — Rembrandt Peale visits Morse — Letter of Benson

CONTENTS. xi

J. Lossing — House in the City of New York — Letter to Arago — Adoption of the
Morse System by the German Convention — Extension into Denmark, Sweden,
Russia, and Australia — Honorary Distinctions and Testimonials — Scientific
Bodies — Yale College — Foreign Governments , .Pp. 589-613

CHAPTER XVI.

1854-1855.

Submarine Telegraph — The First Experiment — Newfoundland Electric Telegraph —
Cyrus W. Field — Lieutenant Maury's Opinion — Formation of a New Company
— Morse to Faraday — Extension of Patent — Letters to Mr. Field and Mr. White
— Dr. Steinheil's Letter — Hon. D. D. Barnard — Professor Morse's Predictions —
Expedition to Newfoundland — Attempt to lay the Cable — Failure — Renewed
Attempt, and Success 614-625

CHAPTER XVII.

1856.

Professor Morse visits his Native Place — Goes to Europe — Consultations in London
on the Atlantic Telegraph — Mr. Peabody's Dinner — Landseer and Leslie-
Whitebait Dinner — Letter to the Children — Goes to Paris and Hamburg — At
tentions shown to him there — Copenhagen — Visit to the King of Denmark —
Goes to Russia — Reception — Presentation to the Emperor — Visit to Berlin —
Reception by Humboldt — Return to London — Scientific Experiments — Letters
to Mr. Field — Banquet to Morse — Legion of .Honor — Tupper's Sonnet — London
Times— Robert Owen 626-648

CHAPTER XVIII.

1857.

Submarine Cables — Early Attempts — Construction of the Cables — Congressional
Action — Professor Morse, the Electrician — Embarks on the Niagara — Letters
to Mrs. Morse — Experiments with Dr. Whitehouse in London — Lord Mayor's
Banquet — In Paris — Mr. Mason — Professor Morse's Claim — Return to London
— Embarking — Narrow Escapes — Cable Festival — Cove of Cork — An Accident
— Valentia — Sailing of the Expedition — Parting of the Cable — Attempt aban
doned for the Season — Return to New York — Mr. Field's Efforts — The Second
Expedition — Failure — Third Expedition — The Cable laid — The Continents con
nected — First Message — Great Rejoicing — Celebration — The Cable silent Eight
Years — Fourth Expedition — Great Eastern — Failure — Return — Fifth Expedi
tion — Success at last 649-666

CHAPTER XIX.

1858-1859.

Return to America — Winter in New York—Bridal Party and Festivities — Invited to
Paris — Preparations for the Journey — Instruction to Farmer and Coachman —
Voyage — Remarkable Prediction and Fulfillment — Paris — Banquet — Memorial
to Foreign Powers — Hon. Lewis Cass — Hon. John Y. Mason — The French Gov-
eminent — Convention called — Governments represented — Count Walewski'a

xii CONTENTS.

Letter to Professor Morse — Proceedings of the Convention — Amount of Award
— Proportion of the Several Governments — Summary of Foreign Distinctions —
Visit to the West Indies — Erection of a Telegraph — Southern Atlantic Tele
graph — Correspondence — Letter from Professor Steinheil — Morse's Reply — Pro
posal to raise a Testimonial to Steinheil — Professor Morse's Return — Reception
at Poughkeepsie . . Pp. 667-694

CHAPTER XX.

1860-1870.

At Home— Views on Secession and the War — Education of his Children — Letters to
them — Applications for Aid — Last Visit to Europe — Dusseldorf and Artists —
Paris — Attentions paid him — Reception at Court — The Great Exhibition — Habit
of Life in Paris— Labors in the Committee on .Telegraphs — Isle of Wight —
Dresden — Presentation at Court — Berlin and the Telegraph Corps — Return to
America — Purchase of Allston's " Jeremiah " and Present to Yale College —
AUston's Portrait by Leslie he presents to Academy of Design — Donation to
Theological Department of Yale College — To New York Union Theological
Seminary — Banquet in New York — Chief-Justice Chase's Remarks — Professor
Morse's — Mr. Huntington's — Summer at Poughkeepsie — His Leg is broken —
Prostrate for Three Months — Statue of Humboldt — Statue of Morse— Erected
by Telegraph-operators — Ceremonies in the Central Park — Academy of Music —
Address by Professor Morse 695-724

CHAPTER XXI.

LITERARY AND RELIGIOUS LIFE.

A Ready Writer — Studies in his Department — Authorship — Lucretia Maria David
son — The Serenade — Roman Catholic Controversy — Foreign Conspiracy — Con
fessions of a Priest — General Lafayette's Remark — Our Liberties defended —
Imminent Dangers — Defense of his Invention — Religious Life — Analysis of his
Christian Character — Sketch by Rev. Dr. Wheeler — Anticipations of Death —
Death of his Brother Richard — The Three Brothers — The Tortoise and Hare —
In his Library — Asiatic Society — Evangelical Alliance — Literary and Benevolent
Labors — Domestic Peace — The Evening of Life .... 725-737

CHAPTER XXII.

1870-1872.

An Old Painting — Letter to the Convention in Rome — Death of Sidney E. Morse —
Last Public Service — Unveiling the Statue of Franklin — Sickness — Death —
Funeral — Memorial Services in Washington — Boston — Action of Congress —
Legislature of Massachusetts — Telegraphic Sympathy — Tributes of Respect —
Sketch of Character 738-753

APPENDIX 754-776

ILLUSTRATIONS.

MORSE, uET. 75 Frontispiece

REV. DR. MORSE AND FAMILY ... To face page 26

THORWALDSEN « 205

MORSE, JET. 45 " 251

MORSE'S WORKSHOP " 289

ARAGO, HUMBOLDT, AND MORSE « 365

MORSE, PEALE, AND LOSSING " 596

TURKISH DIPLOMA « 608

HUMBOLDT " 641

MORSE IN HIS STUDY.. " 726

Drawings illustrative of the invention will be found in their appro
priate places in the text and the appendix.

LIFE OP SAMUEL F, B, MOKSE,

CHAPTEE I.

MORSE.

GENEALOGY — CHARACTERISTICS OP ANCESTORS — HIS GRANDFATHER REV. DR.
SAMUEL FINLEY — HIS FATHER REV. DR. JEDEDIAH MORSE — HIS BROTHERS
SIDNEY EDWARDS AND RICHARD OARY MORSE — BIRTH OF SAMUEL F. B.
MORSE — PREDICTIONS.

THE name of Morse is readily traced to the time of Edward
III. of England. It is variously written Mors, Moss, Morss,
and Morse. During the last five hundred years the family coat-
of-arms has borne the motto, "In Deo, non' armis, fido : " Ix

GOD, NOT ARMS, I TRUST.

Anthony Morse, who was born at Marlborough, in Wilt
shire, England, May 9, 1606, came to New England in 1635.

He settled in Newbury, Massachusetts, about half a mile
south of the most ancient cemetery in the old town. The house
in which he dwelt was on a slight eminence in a field that is
known as the Morse field to this day. He was a man of cour
age, energy, enterprise, and great integrity of character, traits
which have been transmitted through the successive generations
of his family. His son Anthony succeeded to the paternal acres,
'lived upon them, and died February 25, 16TT-'T8.

Peter Morse, grandson of the first Anthony, and son of the
second, removed about the year 1698 to New Eoxbury, Massa
chusetts, and died there November 2, 1721.

John, the oldest son of Peter, resided in the same place, and

2 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

was married to Sarah Peak, who lived within a month of a hun
dred years. She died March 15, 1801, having had ten children,
seventy-two grandchildren, two hundred and nineteen great
grandchildren, and fourteen great-great-grandchildren. Their
tenth and last child was Jonathan, who (it is not strange to say)
died at the age of three years and four months, having read the
Bible through twice, committed many passages to memory, and
conducted family worship, for which he must have been emi
nently qualified !

Dolly Morse died in West "Woodstock, Connecticut, on the
29th of November, 1870, in the eighty-seventh year of her age,
leaving" ()4^4s^r> m ner eighty-fifth, and two brothers, one in
his eighty-first and the other in his ninetieth year — all cousins
\f£\ frcifessor1, 'Horse. The grandfather of these seven cousins
died in the ninety-fourth, their grandfather's brother in the
ninety-third, one of his sisters in the eighty-eighth, another in
her seventy-eighth, his oldest son in the eighty-fifth, and his
mother in the ninety-ninth year of their respective ages. The
descendants of the great-grandmother, at the time of her death,
numbered three hundred and nineteen, of whom thirty-one were
of the fifth generation ; and one or more of each of the last four
generations resided under the same roof with the old lady when
she died. If the great-grandmother, who was born in 1701, had
at the time of her birth any living ancestor over eighty-one
years old, three lives, viz., the lives of this ancestor, of the great-
grandmother, and one of her surviving great-grandchildren,
would cover the whole period of American history from the
landing on Plymouth Rock to the death of Professor Morse in
1872. Professor Morse compiled a table of longevity in his
family, leaving a blank in it for his own age at the time. of his
death, which was eighty-one. In this table he records the age
of his great-great-grandmother seventy-nine, great-great-grand
father eighty-one, great-great-grandmother ninety, great-grand
mother ninety-nine years and eleven months, grandfather nine
ty-four, grandmother eighty-one, great uncle ninety-three, great
aunt eighty-eight, cousins ninety-one, eighty-seven, eighty-seven,
eighty-two.

Jedediah was the oldest son of John and Sarah Morse. He
was born July 8, 1726, in New Roxbury, In the year 1749 the

JEDEDIAH MORSE. 3

town passed from the jurisdiction of Massachusetts to that of
Connecticut, and was called Woodstock. Here Jedediah Morse,
with seventy-three others, took the oath of allegiance to Connect
icut at the first freemen's meeting. He was a strong man, in
body and mind, an upright and able magistrate, for eighteen
years one of the selectmen of the town, twenty-seven years town
clerk and treasurer, fifteen years a member of the Colonial and
State Legislature, and a prominent, honored, and useful member
and officer of the Church. He died December 29, 1819, at the
age of ninety-four.

Jedediah Morse, D. D., father of SAMUEL FINLEY BKEESE
MOESE, was the eighth child of Jedediah Morse, and was born in
Woodstock, August 23, 1761. Dr. John Todd said of him, " Dr.
Morse lived before his time, and was in advance of his genera
tion." He was a projector, author, founder, inventor. His
works were in the line of intellectual and moral progress, but to
him the world owes large and lasting gratitude, as well as to his
illustrious son. In early years he exhibited a fondness for books ;
and a delicacy of constitution unfitting him for the severe labors
of the farm, his ardent desire for education was gratified by his
judicious and intelligent father. In the spring of 1779, in the
midst of the War of American Independence, he was admitted
into Yale College. Before the term began he was drafted as a
soldier in the Connecticut Line of the army. His health was so
frail, there was no probability of his being able to endure the
hardships of the camp and field, and at the request of his fa
ther, the Governor of the State, Jonathan Trumbull, issued an
order, as captain-general, to Colonel Samuel McClellan (grand
father of Major-General George B. McClellan), directing his
discharge, if in the judgment of the colonel it was proper. He
was accordingly excused from the service, prosecuted his studies,
and graduated in the class of 1783. He studied theology under
Eev. Dr. Jonathan Edwards, son of President Edwards, and
Professor Samuel Wales. Before he was licensed to preach, and
while teaching school in New Haven, he projected and began
his " American Geography," which afterward was inseparably
identified with his name. He was licensed to preach and began
his ministry at Norwich, whence he was called back to be tutor
in Yale. His health was inadequate to the work, and he went to

4 - LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Georgia, and spent the winter preaching at Medway. On his
journey he became acquainted with Benjamin Franklin in Phila
delphia, George Washington at Mount Yernon, and Dr. Ham-
say, the historian, in Charleston, South Carolina, all of whom,
and many others, including Drs. Rodgers, Green, Witherspoon,
and Keith, made valuable contributions to the material with
which he enriched his geography, and afterward his " Gazetteer
of the United States."

After returning from the South with improved health he
spent a few months in the city of 'New York, and then was set
tled as pastor of the First Congregational Church in Charlestown,
Massachusetts, April 30, 1Y89, the same day and hour when
Washington was inaugurated, in ISTew York, President of the
United States. Here he became the champion of that system
of religious doctrine which he professed, preaching with bold
ness and power, publishing pamphlets and essays, establishing
a religious magazine, the Panoplist, and subsequently a reli
gious newspaper, the Boston Recorder ; with others laying the
foundations of the Theological Seminary at Andover, the Ameri
can Board of Foreign Missions, the American Bible Society, the
American Tract Society, and other benevolent institutions which
have marked the first half of the nineteenth century with moral
grandeur unequaled since the morning of the Christian era. Dr.
Eliot, speaking of Dr. Morse, said, " What an astonishing IMPETUS
that man has ! " Judge Jonas Platt pronounced him " one of
the most industrious men our country has produced." Presi
dent Dwight said, " He is as full of resources as an egg is of
meat." Daniel Webster spoke of him as " always thinking, al
ways writing, always talking, always acting."

Having preached a sermon in 1799 on the " Duties of Citi
zens," he sent a copy of it when published to General Washing
ton, which was acknowledged in the following letter, the origi
nal of which is preserved.

" MOUNT VERNON, May 26, 1799.

" REV. SIR : I thank you for your sermon ' exhibiting the pres
ent dangers and consequent duties of the citizens of the United
States of America,' which came to hand by the last post, and
which I am persuaded I shall read with approbating pleasure, as

DR. MORSE'S PREDICTIONS. 5

soon as some matters in which I am engaged at present, are dis
patched.

" With esteem and regard,
" I am, Rev. sir,

" Your obedient and obliged

" Humble servant,
" The Rev. Mr. MORSE. G. WASHINGTON."

He was a man of genius : not content with what had been
and was ; but originating, and with vast executive ability com
bining, the elements to produce great results. To him more
than to any other one man may be attributed the impulses given
in his day to religion and learning in the United States. A pol
ished gentleman in his manners ; the companion, correspondent,
and friend of the most eminent men in Church and State ; hon
ored at the early age of thirty-four with the degree of Doctor
of Divinity by the University of Edinburgh, Scotland ; sought
by scholars and statesmen from abroad as one of the foremost
men of his country and time, such a man was the father of the
inventor of the Telegraph.

On the 10th of May, 1821, in the City Hotel of New York,
at the anniversary of the American Bible Society, Dr. Morse
delivered an address, in which he said, in substance :

" This is one of the signs of the times ; one of the grand
prodigies of external Providence. But all we now see is less the
end than the beginning. It will be prodigy on prodigy, wonder
following wonder, greater as they go, till wonders become the
order of the day ; wonders on wonders, the steady and estab
lished method of Providence. Besides, they will anticipate us,
not we them. New resources will be opened. New truth will
be learned — new only to us, though old itself as its Eternal Au
thor ! For God is our ' king of old, working salvation in the
midst of the earth.' Like himself always, ever original, as well
as supreme, He will do his own pleasure, and illustrate his own
word, as equally i wonderful in counsel, and excellent in work
ing.' "

Such were the visions of future progress before the mind of
Dr. Morse, and which he was wont to impress upon the minds
of his children.

The mothers of great men are deservedly held in honor.

6 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

On the comer of Wall and Hanover Streets, in the city of New
York, where is now standing the banking-house of Brown,
Brothers & Co., the mother of Morse was born, September 29,
1766. Elizabeth Ann Breese was her maiden name. ' She was
the daughter of Samuel Breese, Esq., of Shrewsbury, New Jer
sey, and his wife Rebecca, daughter of Samuel Finley, D. D.,
President of Princeton College. Dr. Finley was of Scotch par
entage. He was born in Ireland, came to America when he
was nineteen years old, became a distinguished preacher and
divine, and, before he was called to the presidency of Nassau
Hall, he had been the teacher of pupils whose names are familiar
in American history. Among them were Benjamin Rush, Eb-
enezer Hazard, James Waddell, D. D., John Bayard, and many
others. In 1743 he was invited to preach to the Second Society
in New Haven, Connecticut, but, as that society was not recog
nized by the civil authority or the New Haven Association, it
was an indictable offence to preach to it ! As he was on his
way to church, he was seized by a constable and imprisoned. A
few days afterward he was indicted by the grand -jury, and
judgment was given that he should be carried out of the colony
as a VAGRANT. The sentence was executed. He petitioned the
Colonial Assembly in the following month to review the case,
but his prayer was denied ! Twenty years from the time he
was carried out of New Haven as a vagrant he was President
of Nassau Hall, and the University of Glasgow conferred upon
him the degree of Doctor of Divinity, being, it is believed, the
first time the degree was conferred by a foreign university upon
any Presbyterian clergyman in America.

Dr. Finley was a man of great ability and extensive learn
ing, every branch of study that was taught in the college being
familiar to him. He died in Philadelphia, and the trustees of
the college caused a cenotaph to be placed to his memory,
among the monuments of the illustrious presidents whose dust
is in the Princeton graveyard.

The wife of Dr. Finley was Sarah Hall, a lady of rare ex
cellence ; and their daughter, Rebecca Finley, became the wife
of Samuel Breese, whose daughter Elizabeth Ann Breese was
married, May 14, 1789, to the Rev. Jedediah Morse, of Charles-
town, Massachusetts.

WEDDING-PRESENTS. 7

They began house-keeping shortly afterward in a hired house
on Main Street, just at the foot of Breed's Hill. Of the sim
plicity of the times and the circumstances that surrounded the
childhood of our subject, something may be inferred from the
gifts which the newly-married couple received from their ad
miring people. Mr. Morse writes to his father :

" The people have been very kind in assisting us to furnish the
house. We have had the following presents, viz. :

" An iron bake-pan and tea-kettle ; a japanned box for sugar ;
three iron pots, two iron skillets, a spider, loaf of sugar, mahogany
tea-table, price nine dollars ; five handsome glass decanters, twelve
wine-glasses, two pint-tumblers, a soup-tureen, an elegant tea-set
of china, price about ten dollars ; two coffee-pots, four bowls, a
beautiful lantern, japanned waiter, price five dollars.

" These are quite a help to us at this time, and are manifesta
tions of the affection of the people."

Two persons more unlike in temperament, it is said, could
not have been united in love and marriage than the parents of
Morse. The husband was sanguine, impulsive, resolute, regard
less of difficulties and danger. She was calm, judicious, cau
tious, and reflecting. And she, too, had a will of her own. One
day she was expressing to one of the parish her intense displeas
ure with the treatment her husband had received, when Dr.
Morse gently laid his hand upon her shoulder and said, " My
dear, you know we must throw the mantle of charity over the
imperfections of others." And she replied, with becoming spirit,
" Mr. Morse, charity is not a fool."

Miss Lucy Osgood, daughter of the Rev. Dr. Osgood, of
Medford, Massachusetts, knew them well, and in one of her let
ters gives us this life-like portrait of both :

" His tall, slender form, the head always slightly inclining for
ward, his extremely neat dress, mild manners, and persuasive tones,
aided by the charm of that perfect good-breeding which inspires
even the rudest with a sense of respect for the true gentleman,
made him in all places a most acceptable guest ; while his own
house was always celebrated as the very home of hospitality.

" Foreigners very extensively brought letters of introduction to
Dr. Morse ; and, though his kindness of heart sometimes exposed

g LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

him to imposition, he often had the opportunity of yielding efficient
service to estimable and meritorious characters. In his duties as a
host, his admirable wife zealously cooperated, making her home
attractive to visitors of every description by her cordial, dignified,
and graceful manners, and her animated conversation. She was,
indeed, distinguished for possessing, in an eminent degree, both
the fascination and the virtues which most adorn a woman."

One of her sons wrote of her :

" Her pleasing manners and remarkable social powers amused
and enlivened her husband's guests, while engaged in grave debate.
When the Middlesex Canal, the earliest enterprise of the kind in
our country, and projected by the Hon. James (afterward Governor)
Sullivan, was in process of construction, it met with strong opposi
tion. Dr. Morse, who believed it of great public utility, espoused
the enterprise with his accustomed ardor, and at his house the able
engineer, Colonel Loammi Baldwin, under whose superintendence
the canal was built, repeatedly met the other directors sociably to
talk over their difficulties.

" Mrs. Morse was present, not merely as a listener, but occa
sionally spoke, and her words elicited from Baldwin, that ' madam's
conversation and cup of tea removed mountains in the way of
making the canal.' She was a good reader, and delighted to gather
around her listeners, to whom she would read aloud from Leighton
or other favorite authors. The best portrait of her is an oil paint
ing by her son, in my possession, which represents her reading by
candle-light. She was unassuming in her manners, and her remark
that she liked the Charlestown people, because ladies could wear
calico dresses when making visits, increased her popularity among
the good people of the parish. Of her influence in making her
home happy, Dr. Todd says : ' An orphan myself, and never hav
ing a home, I have gone away from Dr. Morse's house in tears, feel
ing that such a home must be more like heaven than any thing of
which I could conceive.' "

To these parents eleven children were born, of whom only
three survived their infancy. These three were sons, who at
tained old age, and were distinguished for purity, integrity, and
great usefulness. The youngest of these brothers died first, then
the second, and finally the oldest.

RICHARD C. MORSE. 9

»

Richard Gary Morse was born on the 18th of June, 1795.
He entered Yale College in 1808, when he was in his four
teenth year, and graduated in 1812, the youngest member of his
class. The year immediately following his graduation he spent
in New Haven, being employed as the amanuensis of President
D wight, and living in his family. In 1814 he entered the
Theological Seminary at Andover, and, having passed through
the regular three years' course, was licensed to preach in 1817.
The winter immediately succeeding his licensure he spent in
South Carolina as supply of the Presbyterian Church on John's
Island.

On his return to "New England, he was associated with his
father for some time in a very successful geographical enter
prise ; and, in the spring of 1823, enlisted with his brother in
another enterprise still more important — establishing the New
York Observer, of which he was associate editor and proprietor
for thirty-five years ; and during this long period he contributed
largely to its columns, especially by translations from the French
and German. He became early impressed with the idea that
he had not the requisite natural qualifications for the ministry,
and therefore silently retired from it — though his whole life
was a continued act of devotion to the objects which the min
istry contemplates.

He had great aptness for acquiring languages. Not only
was he familiar with the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, but was
also well versed in the French and German, and had become, in
some degree, a proficient in several other modern languages.
His mind was of a highly-inquisitive cast ; and, though he moved
about so quietly and noiselessly, he was always adding to the
stores of his information. Rev. Dr. Sprague said of him : " If
I were to designate any particular feature of his mind as more
prominent than another, perhaps it would be his literary taste.
The productions of his pen, though I believe they rarely if
ever appeared before the world in connection with his name,
were singularly faultless, and might well challenge the closest
criticism." He died in Kissingen, Bavaria, September 23,
1868. His remains were brought home, and buried in Green
wood.

Sidney E. Morse was born February 7, 1794 ; entered the

10 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Freshman class at Yale in 1805, when but eleven years old, and
was graduated in 1811.

When Mr. Morse was only seventeen years old, he wrote a
series of articles in the Boston Oentinel, on the dangers from
the undue multiplication of new States, thus early in life con
necting himself with the newspaper press. He then studied
theology at Andover, and law at Litchfield, Connecticut, in the
famous law-school there- His father and Mr. Evarts (father of
Hon. "William M. Evarts, of this city), and other clergymen and
laymen in and near Boston, wishing to establish a religious
newspaper, Mr. Sidney E. Morse, at their invitation, undertook
it, wrote the prospectus, employed a printer, and, as sole editor
and proprietor, issued the Boston Recorder, the prototype of
that numerous class of journals now known as " religious news
papers." In 1823, in connection with his younger brother,
Richard C. Morse, he established the New York Observer.

Mr. Morse was the author of a school geography which has
had a vast circulation, and his father before him was the pioneer
in the same field.

His genius was inventive. In 1817 he and his elder brother
patented the flexible piston-pump. In 1839 he produced the
new art of cerography, for printing maps on the common print
ing-press, illustrating his new geography with it, one hundred
thousand copies being sold the first year. This art has not been
patented, and the process has never been made public. In his
later years he engaged with his son, Mr. G. Livingston Morse,
in the invention of the bathometer, for rapid explorations of the
depths of the sea.

With a thorough theological and legal education, his mind
trained to patient thought and cautious investigation, slow in his
intellectual operations, and accurate in his statements, he had
the highest possible qualifications for the great work of his life.
When his mind was " made up," and his position taken, it was
next to impossible to dislodge him. The tenacity with which
he held his ground was justified by the caution with which it
had been chosen ; and it was held with conscientious sincerity
and herculean ability.

His cast of mind was eminently mathematical and statistical,
finding for itself enjoyment in the most abstruse, perplexing,

SIDNEY E. MORSE. H

and extended calculations and computations, tracing the peculi
arities of numbers and the results of combinations. His memory
of figures was extraordinary, and for hours he would descant in
general converse upon the results obtained, with the same accu
racy as if the figures were before him. To discourse upon the
discoveries in art and science, and still more upon the moral
progress of the age, and the great agencies in the past that had
brought on the present, was the recreation and enjoyment of his
life. His physical health was remarkable, as he never was laid
aside a day in his life by illness, until the final blow fell on him.
Of large frame and of very sedentary habits, he yet retained so
great muscular power that he could, and sometimes did perform,
from choice, the severest manual labor for an entire day, with
out exhaustion. 'No one ever saw him unduly excited, or heard
from his lips a severe and unkind expression ; while kindness,
gentleness, and grace, pervaded his spirit and life. With great
intellectual force, and energy that suffered no weariness or re
laxation, there was also this evenness of temperament and perfect
self-control, that never suffered him to be betrayed into a rash,
hasty, or ill-advised word or deed. He died in the city of New
York, December 23, 1871, in the seventy-eighth year of his age,
and was buried in Greenwood.

SAMUEL FINLEY BKEESE MORSE, the oldest of these brothers,
and the inventor of the Telegraph, was born at the foot of Breed's
Hill, in Charlestown, Massachusetts, April 27, 1791.

Dr. Belknap, of Boston, writing to Postmaster-General Haz
ard, in New York, says : " Congratulate the Monmouth Judge "
(Mr. Breese, the grandfather) " on the birth of a grandson.
Next Sunday he is to be loaded with names, not quite so many
as the Spanish ambassador who signed the treaty of peace of
1783, but only four! As to the child,! saw him asleep, so
can say nothing of his eye, or his genius peeping through it.
He may have the sagacity of a Jewish rabbi, or the profundity
of a Calvin, or the sublimity of a. Homer, for aught I know.
But time will bring forth all things."

This was a very curious prognostication on the birth of a
child who became as widely known to the world as Calvin or
Homer.

Dr. Witherspoon, the successor of Dr. Finley in the presi-

12 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

dency of Princeton College, visited Mr. Morse a few days after
the birth of his son, and, many years afterward, the father, writ
ing of Dr. "Witherspoon, said : " With that great and good man
I was well acquainted. When my eldest son was an infant of a
few days old, the doctor paid us his last visit. It will never be
forgotten ; for, deeply affected with this interview with the
granddaughter of his revered predecessor in office, he took her
infant son into his arms, and, after the manner of the ancient
patriarchs, with great solemnity gave him his blessing."

CHAPTEK II.
1791-1811.

EARLY EDUCATION — HIS SCHOOL-MISTEESS — DRAWING WITH A PIN — AT GRAM
MAR-SCHOOL — YALE COLLEGE — PRESIDENT DWIGHT — PROFESSORS DAY AND
SILLIMAN — STUDIES IN ELECTRICITY — GERMS OF THE TELEGRAPH — POR
TRAIT-PAINTING — RECOLLECTIONS BY FELLOW-STUDENTS.

ON the father's and the mother's side, from an early period
in the history of the Morse family, we have discovered
traits of character which were developed in a remarkable man
ner in the inventor of the Telegraph. His brothers and his an
cestors were distinguished for intelligence, energy, original
thinking, perseverance, and unbending integrity.

The boy was trained in the school of the Puritans, by a
father who was in advance of the age in which he lived. Pa
rental discipline was not severe, but religious principles were
inculcated as the source of the highest enjoyment, as well as the
basis of right action. Although the son never broke away from
the restraints of early instruction, he manifested in early child
hood and in youth a beautiful playfulness, and fondness for
amusements, that were never checked by his parents, however
unlike the school in which he was trained they may now appear.

The boy was sent, when he was four years of age, to an old
lady's school within a few hundred yards of the parsonage. She
was an invalid, and unable to leave her chair. She was known
as " Old Ma'am Band." Her school was in a small building
opposite the public-school house. She governed her unruly little
flock with a long rattan, which reached across the small room in
which they were gathered. One of her punishments was pin-

14 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

t

ning the young culprit to her own dress. The first essays at
painting or rather drawing of the young artist were quite dis:,,
couraging; for he, unfortunately, had selected the old lady's
face as his model, a chest of drawers for his canvas, and a pin for
his pencil. "We do not know now successful he was in this his
first attempt, but his reward was an attachment by a large pin
to the old lady's dress. In his struggles to get free the dress
parted, and was dragged to a distant part of the room, but not
out of reach of the terrible rattan, which descended vigorously
on his devoted head.

At seven years of age he was sent to the preparatory school
of Mr. Foster, at Andover, where he was fitted for entering
Phillips Academy, in the same place, then under the direction
of Mark Newman, the predecessor of John Adams. Here for
several years he pursued the studies preparatory to entering
Yale College.

Among the letters addressed to him at this early period in
his life by his father, is one that incidentally shows the style of
boy, who was capable of appreciating such instructions before
he was ten years old.

From Rev. Dr. Morse to his Son Finley.

" CHARLESTOWN, February 21, 1801.

" MY DEAR SON : You do not write me as often as you ought.
In your next, you must assign some reason for this neglect. Pos
sibly I have not received all your letters. Nothing will improve
you so much in epistolary writing as practice. Take great pains
with your letters. Avoid vulgar phrases. Study to have your
ideas pertinent and correct, and clothe them in an easy and gram
matical dress. Pay attention to your spelling, pointing, the use of
capitals, to your handwriting. After a little practice, these things
will become natural, and you will thus acquire a habit of writing
correctly and well. General Washington was a remarkable in
stance of what I have now recommended to you. His letters are a
perfect model for epistolary writers. They are written with great
uniformity in respect to the handwriting and disposition of the
several parts of the letter. I will show you some of his letters
when I have the pleasure of seeing you next vacation, and when I
shall expect to find you much improved.

" Your natural disposition, my dear son, renders it proper for me

DR. MORSE'S LETTER. 15

earnestly to recommend to you to attend to one thing at a time / it
is impossible that you can do two things well at the same time,
and I would therefore never have you attempt it. Never undertake
to do what ought not to be done, and then, whatever you undertake,
endeavor to do it in the best manner. It is said of De Witt, a cel
ebrated statesman in Holland, who was torn to pieces, in the year
1672, that he did the whole business of the republic, and yet had
time left to go to assemblies in the evening, and sup in company.
Being asked how he could possibly find time to go through so
much business, and yet amuse himself in the evenings as he did,
he answered : ' There was nothing so easy, for that it was only doing
one thing at a time, and never putting off any thing till to-morrow,
that could be done to-day.' This steady and undissipated attention
to one object, is a sure mark of a superior genius ; as hurry, bustle,
and agitation, are the never-failing symptoms of a weak and frivo
lous mind. I expect you will read this letter over several times,
that you may retain its contents in your memory. Give me your
opinion on the advice I have given you. If you improve this well,
I shall be encouraged to give you more, as you may need it. Your
mamma is very well, as are your brothers Edward, Richard Gary, and
James Russell ; the last named you have never seen ; your brothers
are very fond of him, as we all are, for he is a fine little boy. x

" We all unite in love to you and Mr. Brown. Tell Mr. Brown j
that I have a little pain in my breast, which renders writing hurt- /
ful to me, else I would write to him.

" Your affectionate parent,

"J. MORSE."

The reply to this letter lias not been preserved, but the
judicious counse1~o~f the father, repeated often, was not lost on
his son. He studied, read, and wrote, at this early age, as if he
were conscious that man's work was expected of him. Even at
this period of life, before habits could have been formed, or
character developed, lie showed a tendency to turn away from
the routine studies of the school, to thTnF~aS3~"act foFniiiiself.
~ He rove^ among "books, but books TEat Were~Tiot in the
course. He pored over Plutarch's " Lives of Illustrious Men,"
and his ambition was fired by the records of their deeds and
fame. When he was only thirteen years of age, and at this
preparatory school in Andover, lie wrote a sketch of the " Life
of Demosthenes," and sent it to his father, among whose papers

IQ LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

it is preserved, as a mark of the genius, learning, and taste of
the child !

He dreamed while he was awake. He grew rapidly in stat
ure. His attainments in general scholarship were remarkable,
and in the regular studies of the school his proficiency was such
that, at the age of fourteen, he was thoroughly qualified to enter
college, and was admitted to the Freshman class in Yale.

Domestic reasons induced his father to detain him from col
lege another year, and he joined the class in 1807.

Timothy Dwight, D. D., was then the President of Yale Col
lege, and at his feet, and under the forming power of this great
man, Finley Morse sat four years. Dr. Dwight was the warm
personal friend, correspondent, and counselor of Dr. Morse,
Finley's father, and at his expressed desire, as well as from the
promptings of his own feelings of friendship, Dr. Dwight took
the deepest personal interest in the young student confided to
his special care. The president was a man of vast and varied
learning, and of strong original powers of mind. He was a
master of inductive philosophy. Few men have ever lived pos
sessing such command of facts, having them arranged in such
order, in his wonderful memory, as to be able to bring them
always and instantly to his use. Professor Olmstead says :

" He combined, in a remarkable degree, the dignity that com
mands respect, the accuracy that inspires confidence, the ardor
that kindles animation, and the kindness that wins affection. He
urged upon his students the importance of observing and retain
ing facts ; he explained the principles of association, and the vari
ous acts which would contribute to fix them in the mind, and also
displayed, in the reasonings and illustrations, both the efficacy of
his rules and the utility of the practice which he earnestly recom
mended.

"In theology and ethics, in natural philosophy and geogra
phy, in history and statistics, in poetry and philosophy, in hus
bandry and domestic economy, his treasures seemed alike inex
haustible. Interesting narration, vivid description, and sallies of
humor ; anecdotes of the just, the good, the generous, the brave,
the eccentric — these all were blended in fine proportions to form
the bright and varied tissues of his discourse. Alive to all the
sympathies of friendship, faithful to its claims, and sedulous in per-

A METEORIC STOXE. 17

forming its duties, he was beloved by many from early life with
whom he entered on the stage, and whom, as Shakespeare says, he
4 grappled to his soul with hooks of steel.'

" I think it may safely be said that those who gained the most
intimate access to him, whether associates, or pupils, or amanuenses,
admired, revered, and loved him most."

Before Finley Morse finished his collegiate course his two
brothers entered Yale, and, Dr. Dwight's eyesight having been
impaired, these young men became his amanuenses. Thus, their
relations to the president being intimate and confidential, they
were in a situation to feel the full influence of his almost magi
cal power. When Finley Morse was a sophomore in college he
wrote in one of his letters to his parents, dated December 23,
1807:

" A remarkable phenomenon appeared here a few days ago. A
meteor passed some distance from the town and burst in Fairfield
County ; large pieces of stone were contained in it, and lay scat
tered round a number of miles. Mr. Silliman went with Mr. Kings-
ley to see a piece of this stone ; he applied a magnet to it, and by
its attraction found it to contain iron. The explosion was very loud ;
it was heard here in New Haven while the students were in at
prayers ; I heard it at the same time. I will try and obtain a piece
of the stone of Mr. Silliman, and keep it to bring home for a curi
osity."

And in his next he gives a report of a scene which shows
that boys in college were, two generations ago, about the same
as now. He was boarding in commons, and thus he writes :

" December 28, 1807.

" We had a new affair here a few days ago. The college cooks
were arraigned before the tribunal of the students, consisting of a
committee of four from each class in college ; I was chosen as one
of the committee from the Sophomore class. We sent for two of the
worst cooks, and were all Saturday afternoon in trying them ; found
them guilty of several charges, such as being insolent to the stu
dents, not exerting themselves to cook clean for us, in concealing
pies which belonged to the students, having suppers at midnight,
and inviting all their neighbors and friends to sup with them at the
expense of the students • and this not once in a while, but almost
2

18 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

every night. We extorted this from one of them, that the reason
they were so neglectful toward us was, because there had been no
disturbance in college for seven years ; that the students, and the
authority, not taking much notice of their conduct, they meant to
do as they please. The committee, after arranging the charges in
their proper order, presented them to the president; he has had
the authorities together, and they are now considering the subject.
This afternoon, Tuesday, December 29th, they have been together,
and I, with many others, have been with them all the afternoon ;
there was no recitation at four o'clock, they were so busily engaged.
I know not how this affair will end, but I expect in the expulsion of
some, if not all, of the cooks. It is now three weeks since the stu
dents convened to appoint their committee, and since that we have
lived extremely well ; indeed, for my part, I think we have lived
very well this term. The fault is not so much in the food as in the
cooking, for our bill of fare has generally been in the following
way : Chocolate, coffee, and hashed meat, every morning ; at noon,
various ; roast-beef twice a week, pudding three times, and turkeys
and geese upon an average once a fortnight ; baked beans occasion
ally ; Christmas, and other merry days, turkeys, pies, and puddings>
many as we wish for ; at night for supper we have, chocolate and
tea in general, pies once a week ; I ought to have added that in fu
ture we are to have beefsteaks and toast twice a week ; before this
the cooks were too lazy to cook them. I will inform you of the
result of this affair as soon as it is completed.

" I have just now as much as I can do ; my leisure moments are
employed in composing, reviewing geometry, and reading history ;
I am now reading Winterbottom's " China." I have read Cave's
" Stranger in Ireland," and intend soon to read his " Northern Sum
mer," I am very much pleased with him as an author. I began to
read Robertson's " Charles V.," but, finding several leaves in the
book missing, I have deferred it till another time."

" January 25, 1808.

"The result of the cooks' trial is: one has been dismissed, two
remain on trial for good behavior, the rest are in their former
standing."

Jeremiah Day was at this time the Professor of Natural
Philosophy in Yale College. Under his instructions Mr. Morse
began the study of electricity, and received those impressions
which were destined to produce so great an influence upon him

PROFESSOR DAY'S EXPERIMENTS. 19

personally, and upon the business, the intercourse, and the
happiness of the human race. Dr. Dwight was the man who
prepared his naturally susceptible mind to receive, retain, and
utilize those impressions. Professor Day was then young and
ardent in his pursuit of science, kindling readily the enthusiasm
of his students by the fire of his own. Afterward he became
the president of the college, and his name is identified with its
subsequent renown. Forty years after Morse had left the insti
tution, Dr. Day, ex-president of the college, bore this testi
mony :

"In my lectures on Natural Philosophy, the subject of elec
tricity was specially illustrated and experimented upon. Enfield's
work was the text-book.

"The terms of the 21st Proposition of Book V. of 'Enfield's
Philosophy,' are these : c If the circuit be interrupted, the fluid will
become visible, and when it passes it will leave an impression upon
any intermediate body.'

" I lectured upon and illustrated the first two experiments pro
pounded by the 21st Proposition, and I recollect the fact with
certainty, by memoranda now in my possession. The experiments
referred to are in terms as follows :

" Experiment 1st. Let the fluid pass through a chain, or through
any metallic bodies, placed at small distances from each other, the
fluid in a dark room will be visible between the links of the chain,
or between the metallic bodies.

" Experiment 2d. If the circuit be interrupted by several folds
of paper, a perforation will be made through it, and each of the
leaves will be protruded by the stroke from the middle to the out
ward leaves."

This was the germ of the great invention that now daily
and hourly astonishes the world, and has given immortality of
fame to the student who, twenty-two years afterward, conceived
the idea of making this experiment of practical value to mankind.
Writing on the subject in 1867, Mr. Morse said: "The fact
that the presence of electricity can be made visible in any de
sired part of the circuit was the crude seed which took root in
my mind, and grew up into form, and ripened into the invention
of the Telegraph."

But there was at the same time, in the faculty of Yale Col-

20 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

lege, another illustrious man, to whom, more than to Dr. D wight
or Dr. Day, Mr. Morse was indebted for those impressions
which resulted finally in his great invention. Benjamin Silli-
man long held front rank among men of science. His contribu
tions made rich the journal that was known by his name, and
his lectures, letters, and travels, rendered his name familiar
throughout the bounds of civilization and learning. Silliman
was Professor of Chemistry while Morse was a student in Yale,
and was at once his teacher and friend. When his testimony
was required, to show when and how the mind of Morse was
first turned to the study of electricity, and in what stage of
advancement the science was at the time of Morse's attention to
it in college, Professor Silliman said : " S. F. B. Morse was an
attendant on my lectures in the years 1808, 1809, and 1810.
I delivered lectures on chemistry and galvanic electricity. The
batteries then in use were the pile of Volta, the battery, of
Cruikshanks, and the Couronne des tasses, well known to the
cultivators of that branch of science. I always exhibited these
batteries to my classes j they were dissected before them, and
their members and the arrangement of the parts, and the mode
of exciting them, were always shown"

And the professor went on to show that, when Mr. Morse
came to reside in New Haven, ten years after his graduation,
he resumed his inquiries in the same direction, with lively in
terest in the pursuit of electrical science. He says : "Mr.
Morse resided near me for several years, from 1821-' 22 onward.
The families were on terms of intimacy, and Mr. Morse was in
the habit of frequent communication with me. About this time
Dr. Hare's splendid galvanic calorimeter, and his galvanic defla-
grator, were invented, and were in my possession, and many
interesting and beautiful results were exhibited by them, as, for
example, the fusion of charcoal, and the combustion of metals.
Mr. Morse was often present in my laboratory during my pre
paratory arrangements and experiments, and was thus made
acquainted with them."

In the year 1809, while Mr. Morse was yet a student in
Yale, a work was published, entitled an " Epitome of Electricity
and Galvanism," by two gentlemen of Philadelphia. The work
excited interest beyond the city where it was published, and

STUDIES IN ELECTRICITY. 21

arrested the attention of the Bev. Dr. Morse, the father of Finley
Morse, still residing in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Dr. Morse
wrote to Dr. John McLean, Professor of Natural Philosophy
in Princeton College, asking him to write a review of the work
for the Panoplist, a magazine then published in Boston. The
subject was at that time commanding marked attention, and the
Morses, father and sons, were the men to be intelligently inter
ested in the developments of the science. We shall find the son,
Finley Morse, renewing his studies in the same direction with
Professor Dana, of the University of New York, five years be
fore the invention, and, at a still later date, with Professor Ren-
wick, of Columbia College, becoming charged with all the
principles and phenomena of the science, as if, even then, in his
own mind, as in the recesses of providential design, the grand
result was maturing.

The testimony of Professors Day and Silliman was given in
court, when it was important, in the defence of his claim to pri
ority in the invention of the Telegraph, for Mr. Morse to be
able to show that his mind was early interested in the study of
chemistry and electricity. While he was collecting testimony
from his instructors, at whose feet he sat while a boy in college,
he was not aware that, among the letters and papers of his
venerable father, long since deceased, there were quietly repos
ing some of the letters that ijhe young student wrote to his
parents while he was in college, and in which he refers to the
studies that specially interested him, and made a lasting impres
sion upon his mind. These letters were found among the old
papers of his father, Dr. Morse, after the death of the son, and
it is quite probable they have never been read from the year
of their date to the present time, a term of sixty-five years. Cer
tainly if Mr. Morse had known of their existence, he would
have brought them from their hiding-place, and by their evi
dence proved what he was in the habit of asserting, that while
in college these subjects engaged his special attention. Writing
to his parents, and dating, Yale College, New Haven, January 1,
1809, he says :

" I am very much pleased with chemistry. It is very amusing,
as well as instructive. There are many very beautiful and surpris
ing experiments performed, which are likewise very useful. I in-

22

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

tend, with your leave, getting me ' a chemical trough » and small
apparatus when I come home, Ward " (a classmate) " and I to bear
the expense together. You will find our experiments very entertain
ing. There will be a number of articles which we shall want, which
we shall be obliged to get here, on account of their being obtained
here cheaper, such as gun-barrels, retorts, etc., the use of which I
will explain to you hereafter."

January 9, 1809, he writes again as to the manner in which
he would pass an approaching vacation, when lie was not going
home on account of the expense of travel ; he says : " Please to
write often, as it will serve to heighten our spirits ; they are a
little depressed at the approach of a vacation, which we are not
destined to enjoy. I find it a difficult task to do nothing. I
shall be employed in the vacation in the 6 Philosophical Cham
ber ' with Mr. Dwight, who is going to prepare a number of ex
periments in electricity."

February 27, 1809, he writes : " My studies are, at present,
optics in philosophy, dialing, Homer, besides attending lect
ures, etc., all of which I find very interesting, and especially
Mr. Day's lectures, who is now lecturing on electricity." Still
more explicit and emphatic are his words, in a letter of March
8, 1809 :

"My studies are quite easy to what they were last term.
Homer is quite easy; optics in philosophy are in some degree
hard, but interesting ; and spherics, in the second volume of Web
ber, is very hard. Our disputes and compositions require a great
deal of hard thinking and close application, which I hope they do
not want from me. Our chemical lectures at present are not very
interesting. Mr. Silliman is now lecturing on the earths, and this
part has always been considered very dry. Mr. Day's lectures are
very interesting, they are upon electricity ; he has given us some very
fine experiments, the whole class taking hold of hands, form the
circuit of communication, and we all received the shock apparently at
the same moment. I never took an electric shock before ; it felt as
if some person had struck me a slight blow across the arms. Mr.
Day has given us two lectures on this subject, and I believe there
are two more remaining ; I will give you some account of them as
soon as they are delivered, which will probably be in the course of
this week."

ENTHUSIASM IN CHEMISTRY. 23

These passages are taken from the very few of his college
letters which have been found. Scores have been lost, and it is
extraordinary that so many have survived the half of a century.

The Eev. Dr. Barstow, of Keene, K H., a great student
and a distinguished divine, was in college with Finley Morse,
and his two brothers, who entered before Finley completed his
course. Dr. Barstow writes of the three brothers :

" All three were exceedingly reputable, studious, and conformed
to the laws of the college, holding an honorable rank in the curric
ulum of branches pursued in their several classes. But, beyond all
this, they accomplished much in pursuit of branches agreeable to
their respective tastes, talents, and inclinations; exhibiting as
wonderful a variety as we ever see in the members of the same
household. Richard, with all the sedateness and gravity of a young
theologue, studied and pondered the deep mysteries of theology,
and the deeds and doctrines of the Reformers. Sidney E. pursued
with avidity those branches of learning that prepared him so ad
mirably to perform the important duties of a religious journalist, to
the great satisfaction and benefit of the Christian public ; and the
Professor, Samuel Finley Breese, inquired with enthusiasm into
those physical sciences that prepared him for his distinguished
career as an electrician, together with the aesthetics of a self-taught
artist and painter.

" The lectures of Professor Silliman, upon chemistry and miner
alogy, were then exciting great interest upon those subjects among
the students ; and in them Finley Morse exhibited ESPECIAL ENTHUSI
ASM. Finley was the most companionable and genial of the three ;
he was ever ready to welcome to his rooms those college friends that
loved to associate with him ; always gentlemanly ; always having a
kind word for others, and always ready to do kind offices to all.

" On a certain occasion, the writer of this note was admiring his
pictures, and the inquiry was made, ' Why can you not paint my
likeness ? ' The answer immediately was, ' I will do it ; ' and the
result was a most perfect likeness^ though the coloring was not so
perfect as Mr. Morse accomplished after attending upon the instruc
tion of others. But he would receive no compensation for the
portrait, delighting to do a favor to those he esteemed."

Dr. John W. Sterling, of Port Richmond, Staten Island, in
a letter dated January 10, 1872, about three months before the

24 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

death of Professor Morse, incidentally gives some pleasant recol
lections of the college-life of the young Morses :

" It so happened that, in the year 1809, when I was of the Fresh
man class of Yale College, Mr. S. F. B. Morse was a member of
the Senior, Sidney E. Morse of the Junior, and Richard Morse of
the Sophomore classes. Among the reminiscences of those early
days, I recall to mind the portraits painted on the walls of his room
by the celebrated S. F. B. Morse, and also an amusing sketch, by
this gentleman, of ' Freshmen climbing the Hill of Science,' repre
senting these poor fellows scrambling upon their hands and knees
in order to reach the pinnacle of eminence. But what remains most
vividly in my memory is, the balloon which they constructed of
letter-paper, purchased, I think, at the paper-mill at Humphreysville,
styled Rock of Rimmon by its poetic proprietor, Colonel Hum
phreys.

" This balloon was eighteen feet in length, was suspended from
the tower of the Lyceum of Yale College, inflated with rarefied air,
and sent aloft with its blazing tail, rising most gloriously until it
vanished in the distance. This balloon was recovered, and another
effort was made to raise it. In rising, however, it lurched, driven
by the wind against the middle college-building, took fire, ascended
in a blaze, but was soon reduced to black ashes."

When four years old, the boy began to scratch the portrait
of his teacher with a pin upon a chest of drawers, and this early
tendency manifested itself as he grew. In college it contributed
to his support. Dr. Barstow recollects that he would not take
pay for the picture made of him, but Morse was glad to get
what he could in this way, to aid him in the payment of ex
penses, which were exceedingly heavy upon a clergyman having
three sons in college at the same time.

He tried his hand upon some of his classmates. The im
perfect likenesses, and worse paintings, appeared marvelous,
when produced by an untaught boy. The young men were
willing to pay moderate prices for rude pictures of themselves,
which were a surprise and delight to their friends at home.
But he made no great attainments in the art while in college.
As yet no master had given him a lesson. He was feeling his
own way along, with dreams of future distinction, even at this
early period.

CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. 25

August 9, 1809, he writes to his parents. :

" I employ my leisure time in painting. I have a large number
of persons engaged already to be drawn on ivory, no less than
seven. They obtain the ivories for themselves. I have taken Pro
fessor Kingsley's profile for him. It is a good likeness, and he is
pleased with it. I think I shall take his likeness on ivory, and pre
sent it to him at the end of the term."

"June 25, 1810.

" Mr. Nettleton is better, and is willing I shall take his likeness
as part pay (for board). I shall take it on ivory. My price is five
dollars for a miniature on ivory, and I have engaged three or four at
that price. My price for profiles is one dollar, and everybody is
ready to engage me at that price."

His college course was drawing near its close. He had no
profession in view, but to be an artist, a painter, was his ambi
tion. Had not his father been a man of large views and
generous feelings, he could not have yielded to his son's desires
to turn away from the learned professions, for which he had
given him a liberal education. But the bent of his genius was
already clearly indicated. July 22, 1810, he writes to his par
ents as to his future :

" I am now released from college, and am attending to painting.
As to my choice of a profession, I still think that I was made for a
painter, and I would be obliged to you to make such arrangements
with Mr. Allston, for my studying with him, as you shall think ex
pedient. I should desire to study with him during the winter, and,
as he expects to return to England in the spring, I should admire
to be able to go with him, but of this we will talk when we
meet at home."

This was written in the Senior recess, before commencement,
when he was to be graduated.

His mother writes to him and gives directions as to the
making of his coat in which to appear at commencement when
he graduates, and his father gives his consent that he should be
one of the managers of the commencement ball.

The first group that he ever painted was executed while he was
a student in college. It is a family scene, and is still preserved,
having an interest far beyond that which attaches to the first

26 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

effort of one who afterward reached the heights of fame. The
painting represents Rev. Dr. Morse, the father, standing by the
side of a globe, on which he is discoursing to his three sons,
while the mother sits by. A copy of this picture is here given.
"When Dr. Morse was in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1810,
he was intrusted with the care of the son of a friend, and brought
him to the North to enter Yale College. Having been admitted,
he was confided to the special attention of Finley Morse, then in
his senior year. The recollections of this Southern student, now
the venerable Joseph M. Dulles, Esq., of Philadelphia, are fresh
and vivid, and are given in his own words, from a letter written
October 16, 1872 :

" I first became acquainted with him at New Haven, when about
to graduate with the class of 1810, and had such association as a
boy preparing for college might have with a senior who was just
finishing his course. Having come to New Haven under the care
of Rev. Jedediah Morse, the venerable father of the three Morses,
all distinguished men, I was commended to the protection of Fin-
ley, as he was then commonly designated, and therefore saw him
frequently during the brief period we were together. The father
I regarded as the gravest man I ever knew. He was a fine exem
plar of the gentler type of the Puritan, courteous in manner, but
stern in conduct and in aspect. He was a man of conflict, and a
leader in the theological contests in New England in the early part
of this century. Finley, on the contrary, bore the expression of
gentleness entirely. In person rather above the ordinary height,
well formed, graceful in demeanor, with a complexion, if I remem
ber right, slightly ruddy, features duly proportioned, and often
lightened with a genial and expressive smile. He was, altogether,
a handsome young man, with manners unusually bland. It is need
less to add that with intelligence, high culture, and general infor
mation, and with a strong bent to the fine arts, Mr. Morse was in
1810 an attractive young man. During the last year of his college-
life he occupied his leisure hours, with a view also to his self-sup
port, in taking the likenesses of his fellow-students on ivory, and no
doubt with success, as he obtained afterward a very respectable rank
as a portrait-painter. Many pieces of his skill were afterward exe
cuted in Charleston, South Carolina. I met him there, and in his
genial manner he said to me : c I am so glad to see you. You re
member that miniature ; it was unfinished when I left New Haven.

SYMPATHETIC INK. 27

I have carried it with me ever since, and over Europe, and thought
a hundred times that I would wash it out and put the ivory to some
other use. Come to my studio and I will be glad to give it to you.'
This memorial of our former intimacy is still in my possession."

His college course being terminated at commencement in the
year 1810, he returned to his father's house in Charlestown,
Massachusetts, with a settled purpose to pursue the art of paint
ing. His mind was busy with something besides books. Writ
ing to his brothers who were still in college, he uses " sympa
thetic " ink, invisible until exposed to heat, and in their reply
they tell him they cannot read it ; he answers, and announces
his devotion to his chosen art :

" BOSTON, December 8, 1810.

" MY DEAR BROTHERS : You wanted to know how you should
read what I had written with the sympathetic ink. It was written
on the paper which covered the newspaper. It appears to me, if
you hold it to the fire so as to warm it till it is quite hot, the writ
ing will appear. I can hardly believe that it should lose its effect
in going between this and New Haven ; what was written was not
of much consequence, and now can be but entirely useless as it was
new then, but now must be quite stale. There is nothing new here
now ; I have almost completed my landscape ; it is ' proper hand
some ' so they say, and they want to make me believe it is so, too,
but I sha'n't yet a while.

" I am going to begin, as soon as I have finished this, a piece,
the subject of which will be ' Marius on the Ruins of Carthage.'
Mr. Allston is very kind and attentive to me, and tries every way
to be serviceable to me.

" I am attending a course of anatomical and surgical lectures
in Boston, under Dr. Warren. He is an excellent lecturer, and
knows anatomy as well as any man, if not better, in the United
States. The lectures, contrary to my expectations, are extremely
interesting. One would suppose at first they would be rather dis
agreeable and disgusting on account of the dissections, but it is not
at all so. They have just begun. They are delivered every day at
one o'clock, and are in length about an hour."

CHAPTEE III.
1811-1815.

WASHINGTON ALLSTON — MOESE GOES TO LONDON UNDEB HIS TUITION — THE
VOYAGE — LONGINGS FOB A TELEGRAPH — BENJAMIN WEST — MOESE's LET-
TEES TO HIS PAEENTS — TO A FEIEND AT HOME — IMPEESSIONS OF WEST —
LESLIE THE PAINTEB — HE AND MOESE BECOME EOOM-MATES — SAMUEL
TATLOE COLEEIDGE — TEIUMPHS OF THE YOUNG AETIST — MEETS WITH
WILLIAM WILBEEFOECE, HENEY THOENTON, ZACHAEY MAOAULAY, LOED
GLENELG, AND OTHEES — VISIT AT ME. THOENTON's — INTEECOUESE WITH
OOLEEIDGE — TEAVELS TO OXFOED, AND INCIDENTS — FIRST POETEAIT
ABEOAD— LESLIE AND MOESE — LETTEES TO HIS PAEENTS — ZEEAH COL-
BUEN — DAETMOOE PEISONEES — ATTEMPTS TO SEEVE THEM — DUNLAP's
ACCOUNT OF MOESE — DYING HEECULES — JUDGMENT OF JUPITEE — GOLD
MEDAL — MES. ALLSTON's DEATH — SCENE AT ME. WILBEEFOECE's — EETUEN
HOME.

ALLSTON returned from Europe in
VV 1809, and spent two years in Boston, where lie was
married to the sister of the Rev. Dr. Channing. Just from col
lege, and burning with ambition to be a painter, young Morse
sought the acquaintance of Allston, who was then the greatest
artist in this country. Morse saw him and loved him. The
affection grew into reverence, continued- through life, and when
the great master, Allston, died, more than thirty years after this
first meeting, his favorite pupil, Morse, begged the brush, still
fresh with paint, as it dropped from the dying artist's hand, and
kept it as a sacred memorial of his teacher and friend. He de
posited it in the New York Academy of Design, which he
founded, and it is there preserved as a sacred memorial of A}1-
ston, and of the veneration of Morse for his first master in art.

WASHINGTON ALLSTON. 39

If the youth would be a painter, his father was disposed to
give him such advantages as were necessary to his success.
Allston was .about returning to Europe, and to his care Mr.
Morse was committed. More than to any, or all other teachers,
Morse was indebted to Allston for his rapid triumphs in art.

Washington Allston was born in Charleston, South Carolina,
November 5, 1779, and was graduated at Harvard College in the
year 1800, having already developed a love for music, poetry,
and painting. With tastes the most delicate and pure, ardent
in his feelings, delighting in the heroic, romantic, and ideal,
he was one of the most noble and beautiful characters of the
age which he adorned. He went to London in 1801, and studied
under Benjamin West, with whom he formed an intimate
friendship. Then he studied in Paris. In Italy he spent four
years. Here he found Samuel Taylor Coleridge, of whom he
said, in one of his letters, " To no other man do I owe so much
intellectually as to Mr. Coleridge, who has honored me with his
friendship for more than five-and-twenty years." In England
Mr. Allston was also the friend of "Wordsworth, Southey, Lamb,
Reynolds, and other brilliant and distinguished men. After a
brief visit of two years in his own country, he returned to Lon
don, and divided his time between poetry and painting. He was
a deeply religious man. A Christian by conviction, his whole
nature was filled with adoration of Him whom not having seen
he loved, an ever-present Being in whom he lived and moved.
Having passed seven years abroad in this second visit, he came
home to America, where his name was already illustrious as the
greatest artist the country had produced. His works commanded
the highest prices that had ever been paid in America for paint
ings. A rare impersonation of the virtues that adorn human
ity, with fine intellectual powers, and a spirit attuned to the
love of his fellow-men, such was the man to whom Finley
Morse was confided at the outset of his career in the art of
painting.

Mr. Morse began to write a journal on the voyage from
New York to Liverpool. He wrote daily till the voyage was
ended, then ceased ; resumed it again on the return-voyage,
four years afterward ; and, with the exception of a few notes
during one of his journeys in Europe, no diary remains. We

30 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

are therefore left to recollections of others, letters to and from
him, and records of the public press, for the material of his
biography. Happily these materials are so abundant as to en
able us to follow him through every step of his life.

Extracts from his Journal.

" After being wind-bound in New York harbor for several days,
I embarked on board the ship Lydia, Captain Waite, for Liverpool,
on Saturday, July 13, 1811 ; went only as far as the quarantine
ground on Staten Island, where we lay over Sunday. We have
fourteen very agreeable passengers, collected from all quarters of
the globe : Mr. Amberger, a Russian ; Mr. Neupaner, a Prussian ;
Mr. Minsliall, the famous dramatist, an Englishman; Mr. Gray and
Mr. Farmer, Scotchmen ; Captain Visscher and lady, Mr. Allston
and lady, Mrs. Waite, the wife of the captain, and a woman-servant
of Captain and Mrs. Visscher, Mr. Searl, and Mr. Lord, Americans."

He beguiled the hours of the voyage by making notes upon
the passengers, the crew, the ship, and the sea, with pencil-
sketches, for he was young and buoyant, and every thing was
fresh and new. The famous dramatist was the occasion of
infinite amusement, for everybody laughed at him, while he im
agined that his wit and humor were entertaining others. The
journal says :

" Mr. Minshall is the author of several plays, as he calls them,
though no one can make head or tail of them ; he will receive
flattery of the grossest kind, and is so puffed up by it as to make
himself a laughing-stock to the whole ship's company. He has
been repeating to us this evening an epilogue to one of his plays,
with such out-of-the-way gestures as to make us almost burst our
sides with laughing, he supposing all this time that we were laugh
ing at the wit of the composition, and joining with us in our mirth
with his whole soul."

Nothing unusual occurred to make the passage memorable,
and in twenty days from port the land beyond was in sight. In
six days more they made the harbor of Liverpool, where, says
the journal :

" We prepared to go ashore among hundreds of people who had
assembled on the wharf. Some had come to hear the news ; some

THREAT OF PRISON. 31

to receive letters from friends in America ; some from mere curi
osity. But by far the greater part of the crowd had hastened to
see us dashed against the head of the wharf by the fury of the
tide. About a quarter-past eleven o'clock I placed my foot upon
terra firma, not a little rejoiced on the occasion, although in a land
of strangers. My fellow-passengers with me walked up into town
to find lodgings. We established ourselves at the Liverpool Arms
Hotel, the same at which Professor Silliman staid when in this
place a number of years since.

" Friday ) August 9th. I went to the mayor to get leave to go
to London. He gave me ten days to get there, and told me if he
found me in Liverpool after that time he should put me in prison,
at which I could not help smiling. His name is Drinkwater, but,
from the appearance of his face, I should judge it might be Drink-
brandy."

Thus hurried out of town by the mayor, with a degree of
severity only to be accounted for by the excitements of the day,
which then indicated hostilities between the United States and
England, Mr. Morse set off in a post-chaise for London with Mr.
and Mrs. Allston. The journey of two hundred miles was ex
tended through a week, as the health of Mrs. Allston required
slow stages and frequent rest.

He found lodgings in London at ~No. 67 Great Titchfield
Street, and immediately wrote to his parents announcing his ar
rival. In this first letter he expresses a longing that seems
prophetic of his great invention. He says, after mentioning his
safety :

" I only wish you had this letter now to relieve your minds from
anxiety, for while I am writing I can imagine mother wishing that
she could hear of my arrival, and thinking of thousands of acci
dents which may have befallen me. I wish that in an instant 1
could communicate the information : but three thousand miles are
not passed over in an instant, and we must wait four long weeks
before we can hear from each other?

On the outside of this letter, yellow with age, is written in
his own hand with pencil, but at what date is not known, prob
ably toward the end of his life, these words : " LONGING FOR A

32 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

The letter continues :

" I long to begin to paint. Mr. Allston has just returned from
Mr. West, who will be very glad to see me to-morrow. His great
picture " (Christ Healing the Sick) " is much talked of, and is pro
nounced by connoisseurs the best ever painted in England. Mr.
West told Mr. Allston that its exhibition had produced" to the Brit
ish Institution, for whose benefit it was exhibited, upward of nine
thousand pounds, although it was open only a few weeks.

" Not being well to-day, I sent my letter of introduction to Dr.
Lettsom, with a request that he would call on me, which he did,
and prescribed a medicine which cured me in an hour or two. Dr.
Lettsom is a very singular man. He looks considerably like the
print you have of him : he is a moderate Quaker, but not precise
and stiff like the Quakers of Philadelphia. He is very pleasant
and sociable, and withal very blunt in his address ; he is a man of
excellent information, and is considered among the greatest literary
characters here. There is one peculiarity, however, which he has
in conversation, that of using the verb in the third person singular
with the pronoun in the first person, as, instead of I show, he says
I shows, etc., upon which peculiarity the famous Mr. Sheridan made
the following lines in ridicule of him :

' If patients call, both one and all,
I bleeds 'em, and I sweats 'em ;
And if they die, why, what cares I ?
I Letts'om.' »

On the following day Mr. Allston introduced the young
student to the great master Mr. West.

That was a memorable moment in the history of Finley
Morse. The fame of Benjamin West was at that time as wide
as the world of art; and his history was familiar to every
American who aspired to eminence in that world. Mr. West
was an American, and now at the head of the Royal Academy
of England — his time and genius in the employ of the king.
Morse, a young pilgrim from the United States, slender, fair-
haired, modest, and gentle, with his foot not yet on the first
round of the ladder of fame, stood before his illustrious country
man, and the distance between them appeared all but infinite.
Yet the career of West was the guide and stimulus to the youth
ful student.

Benjamin West was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania,

BENJAMIN WEST. 33

where his father kept a country store. The boy was only seven
years old wrhen he made with a pen and ink the likeness of his
little sister in a cradle, and so life-like that the mother, who
caught him at it, exclaimed, " I declare, he has made a likeness
of our Sally ! " A party of wild Indians taught him the use of
their colors, and he made hair-brushes from the back and tail of
a cat. A friend sent him a box of paints and brushes when he
was eight years old. The reputation of the artist-boy reached
Philadelphia. He was encouraged to study. His portrait of a
beautiful woman in Lancaster made him famous in that region,
and sitters thronged him. The provost of the University of
the State invited him to Philadelphia, with a promise of patron
age. The family wrere Quakers, and to the Society of Friends
the question of the boy's future was referred. They very wisely
decided that " a man-child has been born, to whom God has
given some remarkable gifts, and we shall do God's will by
giving him our sanction to use them." Yery wise these good
Quakers were in their decision. They said : " Genius is given
of God for some high purpose. What that purpose is, let us
not inquire ; it will be manifested in his own good time and
way. He hath in this remote wilderness endowed with rich
gifts this youth, who has now our consent to cultivate his talents
for art." Then all the women came forward and kissed the
handsome young artist, and the men laid their hands upon his
head. Thus, with the kisses of women and the benedictions of
men, the young Benjamin was consecrated to the work of his
life. He painted in Philadelphia and then in New York, and,
when his portraits and other pictures had brought him money
enough to warrant the expense, he went to Italy in 1Y60. He
was then only twenty-two years old. His career was upward,
steadily and rapidly. He visited all the chief cities of Italy,
copied the greatest w^orks of the old masters, then went to Paris,
and, arriving in London in 1763, was welcomed by Sir Joshua
Reynolds, who encouraged him to exhibit his pictures there.
They commanded recognition, and established his reputation at
once. He determined to remain in London. Two years after
his arrival the king sent for him, and gave him a commission,
took him into his favor, afterward gave him a salary, and re
quired his whole time to be devoted to his service. During the
3

34 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

"War of American Independence, West remaining true to his
native country, enjoyed the continued confidence of the king,
and was actually engaged upon his portrait when the Declara
tion of Independence was handed to him. Mr. Morse received
the facts from the lips of Mr. West himself, and communicated
them to me in these words :

" I called upon Mr. West, at his house in Newman Street, one
morning, and in conformity with the order given to his servant
Robert, always to admit Mr. Leslie and myself, even if he was
engaged in his private studies, I was shown into his studio. As I
entered, a half-length portrait of George III. stood before me upon
an easel, and Mr. West was sitting with his back toward me, copy
ing from it upon canvas. My name having been mentioned to him,
he did not turn, but, pointing with the pencil he had in his hand to
the portrait from which he was copying, he said :

" ' Do you see that picture, Mr. Morse ? '

" ' Yes, sir,' I said ; c I perceive it is the portrait of the king.'

" ' Well,' said Mr. West, ' the king was sitting to me for that
portrait when the box containing the American Declaration of
Independence was handed to him.'

" c Indeed,' I answered ; ' and what appeared to be the emotions
of the king ? what did he say ? '

" ' Well, sir,' said Mr. West, * he made a reply characteristic
of the goodness of his heart,' or words to that effect. ' Well, if
they can be happier under the government they have chosen, than
under mine, I shall be happy.' "

As the king became superannuated, the work on which West
was engaged for the royal chapel was suspended, and his salary
discontinued. But his position as the great master of the age
was secure. And as President of the Royal Academy, the
painter of " Christ Healing the Sick," and of " Christ Rejected
by the Jews," the presence of the venerable man, now seventy-
three years old, excited, in the mind of the student standing be
fore him, emotions of admiration rising into reverential awe.

West received young Morse as a father and a friend. The
introduction by Allston would have been sufficient, and he had
letters to Mr. West, which secured his attention and awakened
his interest at once.

In a very few days Mr. Morse was hard at work, and the

INTRODUCTION TO WEST. 35

impressions made upon him by the great master, at whose feet
he had come to sit, and the inspiration which had already taken
possession of his soul, will appear in a letter written within a
fortnight :

To his Parents.

"LONDON, August 24, 1811.

" I have begun my studies, the first part of which is drawing ;
I am drawing from the head of Demosthenes at present, to get ac
customed to handling black and white chalk ; I shall then commence
a drawing, for the purpose of trying to enter the Royal Academy.
It is a much harder task to enter now than when Mr. Allston was
here before, as they now require a pretty accurate knowledge of
anatomy before they suffer one to enter, and I shall find the advan
tage of my anatomical lectures. I feel rather encouraged from this
circumstance, since the harder it is to gain admittance the greater
the honor it will be should I enter. I have likewise begun a large
landscape, which at a bold push I intend for the exhibition, though
I run the risk of being refused. I am admitted a student in the
British Institution, an establishment having the same views with
the Royal Academy, the improvement of artists ; but it only requir
ing the introduction of some one of the' directors, Mr. West was
so good as to introduce me there.

" I was introduced to Mr. West by Mr. Allston, and likewise
gave him your letter. He was very glad to see me, and said he
would render me every assistance in his power. At the British
Institution I saw his famous piece of c Christ Healing the Sick.' He
said to me, ' This is the piece I intended for America, but the British
would have it themselves ; but I shall give America the better one.'
He has begun a copy, which I likewise saw ; and there are several
alterations for the better, if it is possible to be better. A sight of
that piece is worth a voyage to England of itself. The encomiums
which Mr. West has received on account of that piece has given
him new life, and some say he is at least ten years younger. He
is now likewise about another piece, which will probably be superior
to the other ; he favored me with a sight of the sketch, which he
said he granted to me because I was an American. He had not
shown it to anybody else. Mr. Allston was with me, and told me
afterward that, however superior his last piece was, this would far
exceed it. The subject is, ' Christ before Pilate.' It will contain
about fifty or sixty figures the size of life.

36 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" Mr. West is in his seventy-fourth year (I think), but to see
him you would suppose him only about five-and-forty. He is very
active ; a flight of steps at the British Gallery he ran up as nimbly
as I could. He was particular in his inquiry respecting the arts in
the United States, and appeared very zealous that they should
flourish there. He expressed great attachment to his native coun
try, and he told me, as a proof of it, he presented them with this
large picture. I walked through his gallery of paintings of his own
productions. There were upward of two hundred, consisting princi
pally of the original sketches of his large pieces. He has painted
in all upward of six hundred pictures, which is more than any artist
ever did, with the exception of Rubens. Mr. West is so industrious
now that it is hard to get access to him, and then only between the
hours of nine and ten in the morning. He is working on eight or
nine different pieces at present, and seems to be more enthusiastic
than he ever was before.

" I was surprised, on entering the Gallery of Paintings in the
British Institution, at seeing eight or ten ladies, as well as gentle
men, with their easels and pallets, and oil-colors, employed in copy
ing some of the pictures. You can see, from this circumstance, in
what estimation the art is held here, since ladies of distinction,
without hesitation or reserve, are willing to draw in public.

"I have seen but little of London as yet, being more desirous
of commencing my studies at present, than to gratify my curiosity.
I, however, in going to and from dinner, generally make a little
circuit to see what is to be seen. If you have a plan of London I
will direct you where to find me. I am on the west side of Great
or Upper Titchfield Street, near the corner of that street and Mary-
le-bone Street. The place where I dine is in Wardour Street, at
the corner of that street and Knaves Acre. I pass down Titchfield
Street, by Oxford Market into Oxford Street, and go a short dis
tance eastward, and Wardour Street is on the south side. I have
not felt any of those disagreeable feelings which I expected to ex
perience on my first arrival here ; on the contrary, I have been in
very good spirits, and felt more enthusiastic and determined than
ever in the pursuit of my profession. I rise at seven, and breakfast,
and by half-past seven get to work ; these two or three days past
I have sat over my drawing from half-past seven until five o'clock
in the afternoon, which is my dining-hour. After dinner I generally
walk a little, and visit Mr. and Mrs. Allston, who live but about
three minutes' walk from me, at 49 London Street. He is very

ESTIMATE OF WEST. 37

sociable and pleasant with me, and visits me every day to talk and
smoke his cigar with me. ... I am very anxious at present to
get into the Royal Academy ; I have begun a drawing for the pur
pose from the Gladiator statue, and will tell you the issue in my
next."

After lie had studied a year with Mr. West, and was better
able to judge of the man and the artist, Mr. Morse writes to an
intimate personal friend in his own country :

" Mr. West has been so long at the head of his profession, and
is so well known to the world, that I could relate little of his history
that would be new to you. As a painter he has as few faults as any
artist of ancient or modern times. In his studies he has been in
defatigable, and the result is a perfect knowledge of the philosophy
of his art. There is not a line or a touch in his pictures which he
cannot account for on philosophical principles ; they are not the
productions of accident, but of study. His forte is in composition,
design, and elegant grouping ; his faults are said to be a harsh and
hard outline, and bad coloring. These faults he has in a great
degree amended ; his outline is softer, and his coloring, in some pict
ures in which he has attempted truth of color, is not surpassed by
any artist now living, and some have even said that Titian himself
did not surpass it. He has just completed an historical landscape
which, for clearness of coloring, combined with grandeur of com
position, has never been excelled. In his private character he is
unimpeachable ; a man of tender feelings ; with a mind so noble
that it soars above the slanders of his enemies, and he expresses
pity rather than revenge toward those who through wantonness or
malice plan to undermine him. No man, perhaps, ever passed
through so much abuse, and I am confident no one ever bore up
against its insolence with more nobleness of spirit. With a steady
perseverance in the pursuit of the sublimest profession, he has
traveled on, heedless of his enemies, till he is sure of immortality.

" Excuse my fervor in the praise of this extraordinary man. He
is not such a one as can be met with in every age. And I think
there can be no stronger proof that human nature is the same
always, than that men of genius in all ages have been compelled
to undergo the same disappointments, and to pass through the
same storms of calumny and abuse, doomed in their lifetime to
endure the ridicule or neglect of the world, and to wait for justice
till they were dead."

38 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

The artist-life of Mr. Morse in London was brightened by
the companionship of one who rose to great eminence in his
profession, and whose memory is cherished with pride in our
country as well as in England.

Charles K. Leslie was born in London, in 1794, three years
after the birth of his friend, room-mate, and fellow-student,
Morse. His parents were Americans, residing temporarily in
London at the time of his birth. When tne boy was six years
old his parents returned to the United States with him, and,
giving him an ordinary school education, apprenticed him to a
bookseller in Philadelphia. But the genius of painting was in
him, and asserted itself early. He was sent to London to be a
pupil of Benjamin West, and, thus being brought into imme
diate acquaintance with Mr. Morse, the two young men became
warm personal friends, had their studios together, and were soon
bound by an affection that continued unabated till they were
separated by death. Leslie was the soul of humor. It brims
over in his letters, and pictures, and conversation. He selected
subjects for its display in the pages of Shakespeare, Cervantes,
Moliere, and others. His success was great, and he was soon
elected an associate and member of the Royal Academy. In
the year 1833 he came to the United States to enter upon
the professorship of Drawing in the United States Military
Academy at West Point. He was not contented there, and in
the course of a few months returned to England. In 184:7 he
became Professor of Painting in the Royal Academy, and his
lectures in that chair have been published as a hand-book for
young painters.

His associations with men of genius were intimate and
beautiful, making his Autobiography one of the most delight
ful volumes, bringing us into living converse with Coleridge
and Charles Lamb, Rogers, Washington Irving, and scores of
men whose names are part of the ideal life of every lover of
art and letters. He speaks of his introduction to London and
Morse :

*

" For a few days I was at the London Coffee-House, on Ludgate
Hill, with Mr. Inskip and other Americans. I delivered my letters
to Mr. West, and was kindly received by him. I visited the gal-

LESLIE AND MORSE. 39

leries of artists, the theatres, and the other principal objects of
attraction to strangers, and

' Such sober certainty of waking bliss

I never knew till now.' x

But these enjoyments were soon interrupted by a severe illness,
which confined me to my room in the hotel. I was solitary, and
began to find that even in London it was possible to be unhappy.
I did not, however, feel this in its full force until I was settled in
lodgings, consisting of two desolate-looking rooms up two pair of
stairs in Warren Street, Fitzroy Square. My new acquaintances,
Allston, King, and Morse, were ver3' kind, but still they were new
acquaintances. I thought of the happy circle round my mother's
fireside, and there were moments in which, but for my obligations
to Mr. Bradford and my other kind patrons, I could have been con
tent to forfeit all the advantages I expected from my visit to Eng
land, and return immediately to America. The two years I was to
remain in London seemed, in prospect, an age.

" Mr. Morse, who was but a year or two older than myself, and
who had been in London but six months when I arrived, felt very
much as I did, and we agreed to take apartments together. For some
time we painted in the same room, he at one window and I at the
other. We drew at the Royal Academy in the evening, and worked
at home in the day. Our mentors were Allston and King ; nor
could we have been better provided : Allston, a most amiable and
polished gentleman, and a painter of the purest taste ; and King,
warm-hearted, sincere, sensible, prudent, and the strictest of econo
mists.

" When Allston was suffering extreme depression of spirits, im
mediately after the loss of his wi^e, he was haunted during sleep
less nights by horrid thoughts ; and he told me that diabolical im
precations forced themselves into his mind. The distress of this to
a man so sincerely religious as Allston, may be imagined. He
wished to consult Coleridge, but could not summon resolution. He
desired, therefore, that I should do it ; and I went to Highgate,
where Coleridge was at that time living with Mr. Gillman. I found
him walking in the garden, his hat in his hand (as it generally was
in the oper\ air), for he told me that, having been one of the Blue-
coat Boys, among whom it is the fashion to go bareheaded, he had
acquired a dislike to any covering of the head. I explained the
cause of my visit, and he said : ' Allston should say to himself,
'! Nothing is me but my will. These thoughts, therefore, that force

40 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

themselves on my mind are no part of me, and there can be no
guilt in them." If he will make a strong effort to become indiffer
ent to their recurrence, they will either cease, or cease to trouble
him.' He said much more, but this was the substance, and after it
was repeated to Allston I did not hear him again complain of the
same kind of disturbance."

Morse had made decided progress in his studies before Les
lie joined him, but the companionship of such a man was a con
stant refreshment and stimulus. Before the first month, of his
residence in London was spent, lie writes to his parents :

"LONDON, September 3, 1811.

"I have finished a drawing which I intended to offer at the
Academy for admission. Mr. Allston told me it would undoubtedly
admit me, as it was better than two-thirds of those generally of
fered, -but advised me to draw another, and remedy some defects in
handling the chalks (to which I am not at all accustomed), and he
says I shall enter with some eclat, I showed it to Mr. West ; he
told me it was an extraordinary production, that I had talents, and
only wanted knowledge of the art to make a great painter. Since
giving him your last letter and Dr,. Waterhouse's, he has been very
friendly and liberal to me, and says, if in any way he can benefit
me, he will do it with pleasure. For the first, to economize, he told
me a way of preparing common paper to paint on, instead of can
vas, which will be a great saving of expense to me."

The scene that occurred on the presentation of this drawing
Mr. Morse was fond of describing in after-years, and it furnishes
an invaluable lesson.

Anxious to appear in the most favorable light before West,
lie had occupied himself for two weeks in making a finished
drawing from a small cast of the Farnese Hercules. Mr. West,
after strict scrutiny for some minutes, and giving the young ar
tist many commendations, handed it again to him, saying, " Very
well, sir, very well ; go on and finish it."

" It is finished," replied Morse.

" Oh, no," said Mr. West ; " look here, and here, and here,"
pointing to many unfinished places which had escaped the un
tutored eye of the young student. No sooner were they pointed
out, however, than they were felt, and a week longer wras de
voted to a more careful finishing of the drawing, until, full of

WEST'S GREAT LESSON. 41

confidence, he again presented it to the critical eyes of West.
Still more encouraging and flattering expressions were lavished
upon the drawing, but on returning it the advice was again
given, " Yery well, indeed, sir ; go on and finish it."

" Is it not finished ? " asked Morse, almost discouraged.

" Not yet," replied "West ; " see, you have not marked that
muscle, nor the articulations of the finger-joints."

Determined not to be answered by the constant " Go and fin
ish it " of Mr. West, Morse again diligently spent three or four
days retouching and renewing his drawing, resolved, if possible,
to elicit from his severe critic an acknowledgment that it was at
length finished. He was not, however, more successful than be
fore ; the drawing was acknowledged to be exceedingly good,
" very clever, indeed ; " but all its praises were closed by the
repetition of the advice —

" Well, sir, go and finish it."

" I cannot finish it," said Morse, almost in despair.

" Well," answered West, " I have tried you long enough.
Now, sir, you have learned more by this drawing than you
would have accomplished in double the time by a dozen half-
finished beginnings. It is not numerous drawings, but the char
acter of one, which makes a thorough draughtsman. Finish one
picture, sir, and you are a painter."

When Mr. West was painting his " Christ Rejected," Morse
calling on him, the old gentleman began a critical examination
of his hands, and at length said, " Let me tie you with this cord,
and take that place while I paint in the hands of our Saviour."
Morse of course complied ; West finished his work, and releas
ing him said, " You may say now, if you please, you had a hand
in this picture."

Allston was as severe a teacher and critic as West. In one
of his early letters to his parents, Morse writes :

" My room-mate is Leslie, the young man who is so much talked
of in Philadelphia; we have lived together since December, and
have not as yet had a falling out. I find his thoughts of the art agree
perfectly with my own ; he is enthusiastic, and so am I, and we have
not time to think scarcely of any thing else. Every thing we do
has a reference to the art, and all our plans are for our mutual ad
vancement in it. We enjoy much of the company of Mr. Allston,

42 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

and a few other gentlemen, consisting of three or four painters and
poets. We meet by turns at each other's rooms. Mr. Allston is
our most intimate friend and companion. I can't feel too grateful
to him for his attentions to me ; he calls every day, and superintends
all we are doing. When I am at a stand and perplexed in some
parts of the picture, he puts me right, and encourages me to pro
ceed, by praising those parts which he thinks good ; but he is
faithful, and always tells me when any thing is bad. It is mortify
ing, sometimes, when I have been painting all day very hard, and
begin to be pleased with what I have done, on showing it to Mr.
Allston, with the expectation of praise, and not only of praise, but
a score of ' excellents, well-dones, and admirables ' — I say, it is morti
fying to hear him after a long silence say : * Very bad, sir / that is
not flesh, it is mud, sir • it is painted with brick-dust and clay? I
have felt, sometimes, ready to dash my palette-knife through it, and
to feel at the moment quite angry with him ; but a little reflection
restores me. I see that Mr. Allston is not a flatterer, but a friend,
and that, really to improve, I must see my faults. What he says
after this always puts me in good-humor again. He tells me to
put a few flesh-tints here, a few gray ones there, and to dear up
such and such apart, by such and such colors ; and not only that,
but takes the palette and brushes, and shows me how. In this
way he assists me ; I think it one of the greatest blessings that I
am under his eyes. I don't know how many errors I might have
fallen into if it had not been for his attentions."

Speedily admitted to the Koyal Academy, and pursuing his
art with enthusiasm, Morse begins to be a critic in the first years
of his pupilage. He writes to his parents :

"LONDON, January 30, 1812.

" I called, a day or two since, on Sir William Beechy, an artist
of great eminence, to see his paintings. They are beautiful beyond
any thing I ever imagined ; his principal excellence is in coloring,
which to the many is the most attractive part of the art. Sir Wil
liam is considered the best colorist now living. You may be apt to
ask * If Sir William is so great, and even the best, what is Mr. West's
great excellence ? ' Mr. West is a bad colorist in general, but he ex
cels in the grandeur of his thought ; Mr. West is to painting
what Milton is to poetry, and Sir William Beechy to Mr. West, as
Pope to Milton ; so that by comparing with, or rather illustrating,
the one art by the other, I can give you a better idea of the art of

PERCEVAL'S ASSASSINATION. 43

painting, than in any other way ; for, as some poets excel in the
different species of poetry, and stand at the head of their different
kinds, in the same manner do painters have their particular branch
of their art : and as epic poetry excels all other kind of poetry,
because it addresses itself to the sublimer feelings of our nature, so
does historical painting stand preeminent in our art, because it
calls forth the same feelings. For poets' and painters' minds are
the same, and I infer that painting is superior to poetry, from
this : that the painter possesses, with the poet, a vigorous imagi
nation, where the poet stops ; while the painter exceeds him in the
mechanical and very difficult part of the art, that of handling the
pencil"

The years 1811-1815, which were passed by Mr. Morse in
London, were eventful in the political world, including, as
they did, the pefcod of the war between Great Britain and the
United States (1812-1814), and the war between France and
the allied European powers, terminating in the battle of Water
loo and the Treaty of Paris in 1815. Mr. Morse was in constant
correspondence with his friends at home, and intensely interested
in the great events of the age. In the spring of 1812, within
the first year of his life in London, lie writes to his parents of—

The Assassination of the Prime- Minister.

"LONDON, May 17, 1812.

" I write in great haste, just to inform you of a dreadful event
which happened here last evening,1 and rumors of which will prob
ably reach you before this ; it is no less than the assassination of
Mr. Perceval, the Prime-Minister of Great Britain. As he was en
tering the House of Commons last evening, a little past five o'clock,
he was shot directly through the heart, by a man from behind the
door ; he staggered forward and fell, and expired in about ten min
utes. The mention of this shocking affair is but to remove any
doubts you might have of the fact ; I heard of it last evening, about
three hours after it was perpetrated, but could not believe it, until
the particulars related in the morning papers and my own eyes con
firmed it. I have just returned from the Souse of Commons' there
was an immense crowd assembled, and very riotous : in the hall was
written in large letters, 'Peace, or the Head of the Regent ! ' This
country is in a very alarming state, and there is no doubt but great
quantities of blood will be spilled before it is restored to order ; even

44 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

while I am writing, a party of Life Guards are patrolling the streets.
London must soon be the scene of dreadful events. Last night I had
an opportunity of studying the public mind ; it was at the theatre / the
play was ' Venice preserved, or the Plot discovered? If you will take
the trouble just to read the first act, you will see what relation it
has to the present state of affairs. When Pierre says to Jaffier,
' Canst thou kill a senator ? ' there were three cheers, and so through
the whole ; whenever any thing was said concerning conspiracy, and
in favor of it, the audience applauded ; and when any thing was said
against it they hissed. When Pierre asked the conspirators if Bru
tus was not a good man, the audience were in a great uproar, ap
plauding so as to prevent for some minutes the progress of the per
formance. This, I think, shows the public mind to be in great agita
tion. You must not feel anxious respecting me ; I can take care of
myself, for, although London will probably be the scene of much
bloodshed, I hope I shall have prudence enough to keep clear from
danger. If I follow my pursuits without meddling with the affairs
of others, I shall remain unmolested j so don't feel anxious. This is
written in haste. The papers will give you more particulars. . . .

" May llth. — The assassin, Bellingham, was immediately taken
into custody. He was tried on Friday, and condemned to be execut
ed to-morrow morning (Monday, 18th). I shall go to the place to
see the concourse of people. I should not be surprised if an attempt
were made to rescue him.

" Monday Morning, 18th. — I went this morning to the execu
tion ; a very violent rain prevented so great a crowd as was expect
ed. A few minutes before eight o'clock Bellingham ascended the
scaffold. He was very genteelly dressed. He bowed to the crowd,
who cried out, * God bless you ! ' repeatedly. I saw him draw the cap
over his face and shake hands with the clergyman. I staid no lon
ger ; but immediately turned my back and was returning home. I
had taken but a few steps before the clock struck eight, and on
turning back I saw the crowd beginning to disperse. I have felt
the effects of this sight all day, and shall probably not get over it
for weeks. There were no accidents."

In a postscript to one of his letters of the same date, he says :

" Mr. West is very kind to me ; I visit him occasionally of a
morning to hear him converse on the art. He appears quite at
tached to me, as he is, indeed, to all young American artists ; it
seems to give him the greatest pleasure to think that one day the

AMUSEMENTS IN LONDON. 45

arts will flourish in America. He says that Philadelphia will be
the Athens of the world."

In a playful letter to one of his brothers, Morse describes —
as he perhaps would not to his parents —

Sis Amusements.

"LONDON, June 16, 1812.

" I have only a few moments to write you, as to-day the gal
lery of the Marquis of Stafford is open to artists ; and, as it is
but one day in the week for two months in the year, I cannot well
miss it.

" The queen held a drawing-room a short time since, and I went
to St. James's Palace to see those who attended. It was a singular
sight to see the ladies and gentlemen in their court dresses ; the
gentlemen were dressed in buckram-skirted coats without capes,
long waistcoats, cocked-hats, bag-wigs, swords, and large buckles in
their shoes ; the ladies in monstrous hoops, so that in getting into
their carriages they were obliged to go edgewise. Their dresses
were very rich. Some ladies, I suppose, had about them, to adorn
them, twenty or thirty thousand pounds' worth of diamonds. I had
a sight of the prince regent as he passed in his splendid state car
riage, drawn by six horses ; he is very corpulent ; his pictures are
good, but he is very red and considerably bloated. I likewise saw
the Princess Charlotte of Wales — she is handsome — the Dukes of
Kent, Cambridge, Clarence, and Cumberland, Admiral Duckworth,
and many others. The prince held a levee a few days since, at
which Mr. Van Rensselaer was presented.

" I went out to Epsom races with Mr. Van Rensselaer in his
carriage a short time ago, rather for the ride than to see the run
ning. Epsom is about nine or ten miles from London. I saw a
great many splendid equipages and a great deal of company ; most
of the neighboring nobility were there ; there was very good rac
ing. I was on a hill in the centre of the course, so that I could see
nearly the whole course, which was a mile and a half in length.

" I occasionally attend the theatres. At Covent Garden there is
the best acting in the world. Mr. Kemble is the first tragic actor
now in England ; Cook was a rival, and excelled him in some char
acters. Mrs. Siddons is the best tragic actress perhaps that ever
lived. She is now advanced in life, and is about to retire from the
stage. On the 29th of this month she makes her last appear
ance. I must say I admire her acting very much. She is rather

46 LI^E OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

corpulent, but has a remarkably fine face ; the Grecian character is
portrayed in it. She excels in deep tragedy. In Mrs. Beverly, in
the play of t The Gamesters,' a few nights ago, she so arrested the
attention of the house, that you might hear your watch tick in your
fob, and at the close of the play, when she utters an hysteric laugh
for joy that her husband was not a murderer, there were three dif
ferent ladies in the boxes who actually went into hysterics, and were
obliged to be carried out of the theatre. Mrs. Siddons is a woman
of irreproachable character, and moves in the first circles. The
stage will never again see her equal. You mustn't think, because I
praise the acting, that I am partial to theatres ; I think in a certain
degree they are harmless, but too much attended they dissipate the
mind. There is no danger of my loving them too much.

" Last night, as 1 was passing through Tottenham Court Road, I
saw a large collection of people of the lower class making a most ter
rible noise by beating on something of the sounding genus. Upon
going nearer and inquiring the cause, I found that a butcher had just
been married, and that it is always the custom on such occasions for
his brethren by trade to serenade the couple with ' marrow-bones and
cleavers.' Perhaps you have heard of the phrase * musical as mar
row-bones and cleavers.' This is the origin of it. If you wish to
experience the sound, let each one in the family take a pair of
tongs and a shovel, and then standing all together let each one try
to outdo the other in noise, and this will give you some idea of it.
How this custom originated I don't know ; I hope it is not symboli
cal of the harmony which is to exist between the parties married."

In another letter to his parents, in the beginning of his sec
ond year, he

Dreams of G-reatness.

" LONDON, September 20, 1812.

" I have removed from 82 Titchfield Street to No. 8 Bucking
ham Place, Fitzroy Square. . . .

" I have just finished a model in clay of a figure (' The 'Dying
Hercules '), my first attempt at sculpture. Mr. Allston is extreme
ly pleased with it ; he says it is better than all the things I have
done since I have been in England, put together, and says I must
send a cast of it home to you, and that it will convince you that I
shall make a painter. He says also he shall write to his friends in
Boston, to call on you and see it when I send it.

" Mr. West, also, was extremely delighted with it. He said it

LOVE OF ART 47

was not merely an academical figure, but displayed thought. He
could not have paid me a higher compliment. Mr. West would write
you, but he has been disabled from painting or writing, for a long
time, with the gout in his right hand. This is a great trial to him.
I am anxious to send you something to show you that I have not
been idle since I have been here. My passion for my art is so
firmly rooted that I am confident no human power could destroy it.
The more I study, the greater I think is its claim to the appellation
of divine / and I never shall be able sufficiently to show my grati
tude to my parents for enabling me to pursue that profession, with
out which I am sure I should be miserable. And if it is my destiny
to become GREAT, and worthy of a biographical memoir, my biog
rapher will never be able to charge upon my parents that bigoted
attachment to any individual profession the exercise of which
spirit by parents toward their children has been the ruin of some
of the greatest geniuses ; and the biography of men of genius has
too often contained that reflection on their parents. If ever the
contrary spirit was evident, it has certainly been shown by my par
ents toward me. Indeed, they have been almost too indulgent.
They have watched every change of my capricious inclinations, and
seem to have made it an object to study them with the greatest
fondness ; but I think they will say that, when my desire for change
did cease, it always settled on painting. I hope that one day my
success in my profession will reward you in some, measure for the
trouble and inconvenience I have so long put you to.

" I am now going to begin a picture of the death" of Hercules,
this figure to be as large as life. I shall send it to you as soon as
practicable, and also one of the same to the Philadelphia Exhibi
tion, if pos'sible, in season for the next in May."

Mr. Morse had brought with him from his distinguished
father and his father's eminent friends, letters of introduction
to some of the best men in England. Among them were Wil
liam "Wilberf orce and Henry Thornton, both of them illustrious
philanthropists, and at that time members of Parliament ; Zach-
ary Macaulay, editor of the Christian Observer, and father of
the historian ; the two Grants, one of whom was afterward Lord
Glenelg ; and many others. The. young artist was warmly re
ceived by these distinguished and excellent men. He was, how
ever, so absorbed in his studies, and so firmly resolved to permit
nothing to interfere with his progress, that he declined to de-

48 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

liver these letters for several months. His father reproves him
for his neglect, and he justifies himself by showing that social
duties would occupy more time than he could spare from his
work, and that mingling in society was inconsistent with devo
tion to study. But in the course of the year he ventured upon
making himself known ; and his letters frequently mention the
delightful intercourse with public men which these letters se
cured.

To his Parents.

"LONDON, December 22, 1812.

" Last Thursday week I received a very polite invitation from
Henry Thornton, Esq, to dine with him, which I accepted. Hear
ing that your son was in the country, he found me out, and has
shown me every attention ; he is a very pleasant, sensible man ; but
his character is too well known to you to need any eulogium from
me. At his table was a son of Mr. Stephen, who was the author of
the odious Orders in Council. Mr. Thornton asked me at table, if I
thought that c if the Orders in Council had been repealed a month
or two sooner, it would have 'prevented the war.' I told him I
thought it would, at which he was much pleased, and, turning to
Mr. Stephen, he said : ' Do you hear that, Mr. Stephen ? I always
told you so.' Last Wednesday I dined at Mr. Wilberforce's ; I was
extremely pleased with him ; at his house I met Mr. Thornton and
Mr. Grant, members of Parliament. In the course of conversation,
they introduced America. Mr. Wilberforce regretted the war ex
tremely ; he said it was like two of the same family quarreling ;
that he thought it a judgment on this country for their wickedness,
and that they had been justly punished for their arrogance and inso
lence at sea, as well as the Americans for their vaunting on land.
As Mr. Thornton was going, he invited me to spend a day or two
at his seat at Clapham, a few miles out of town. I accordingly
went, and was very civilly treated ; the reserve which I mentioned
in a former letter was evident, however, here, and I felt a degree of
embarrassment arising from it which I never felt in America.
The second day I was a little more at my ease. At dinner were
two sons of the Mr. Grant I mentioned above; they are, perhaps, the
most promising young men in the country, and you may possibly
one day hear of them as at the head of this nation. After dinner I
got into conversation with them and Mr. Thornton. When Amer
ica again became the topic of conversation, they asked me a great

ORDERS IN COUNCIL. 49

many questions, which I answered to the best of my ability. They
at length asked me if I did not think that the ruling party in
America were very much under French influence. I replied no ; that
I believed, on the contrary, that nine-tenths of the American people
were prepossessed strongly in favor of this country ; as a proof, I
urged the universal prevalence of English fashions in preference to
French ; English manners and customs ; the universal rejoicings on
the success of the English over the French; the marked attention
shown to English travelers and visitors ; the neglect with which they
treated their own literary productions, on account of the strong pre
judice in favor of English works ; that every thing, in short, was en
hanced in its value by having attached to it the name English.
They were very much pleased with what I told them, and acknowl
edged that America, and American visitors generally, had been treat
ed with too much contempt and neglect. In the course of the day
I asked Mr. Thornton what were the objects that the English Gov
ernment had in view when they laid the Orders in Council. He
told me, in direct terms ' The universal monopoly of commerce / ' that
they had long desired an excuse for such measures as the Orders in
Council, and that the French decrees were exactly what they wished,
and the opportunity was seized with avidity the moment it was
offered ; they knew that the Orders in Council bore hard upon the
Americans, but they considered that as merely incidental. To this
I replied, if such was the case as he represented it, what blame could
be attached to the American Government for declaring war ? He
said that it was urged that America ought to have considered the
circumstances of the case, and that Great Britain was fighting for
the liberties of the world ; that America was in a great degree inter
ested in the decision of the contest, and that she ought to be con
tent to suffer a little. I told him that England had no right what
soever to infringe on the neutrality of America, or to expect, because
she (England) supposed herself to have justice on her side in the
contest with France, that of course the Americans should think the
same. The moment America declared this opinion, her neutrality
ceased. £ Besides,' said I, ' how can they have the face to make such
a declaration, when you just now said that their object was uni
versal monopoly, and they longed for an excuse to adopt measures
for that end ? ' I told him that ' it showed that all the noise about
England's fighting for the liberties of mankind proved to be but a
thirst, a selfish desire for universal monopoly? This, he said,
seemed to be the case ; he could not deny it. He was going on to

4

50 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

observe something respecting the French decrees, when we were
interrupted, and I have not been able again to resume the conver
sation, as I returned to town with him shortly after in his carriage,
where, as there were strangers, I could not introduce it again. I
shall take the opportunity some time to pursue the subject with
him. The prince's declaration, vindicating the English Govern
ment from blame in the war with America, has been published
some time. It is a flimsy thing, and by the friends of the adminis
tration thought to be but a weak defence."

Among the autographs which Mr. Morse preserved to' the
end of his life is the following note from Mr. Wilberforce, to
whom he had neglected to deliver his letters of introduction,
notwithstanding his father's urgency that lie should make the
acquaintance of that remarkable man :

"KENSINGTON GORE, January 4, 1813.

" SIR : I cannot help entertaining some apprehension of my not
having received some letter or some card, which you may have" done
me the favor of leaving at my house. Be this, however, as it may,
I gladly avail myself of the sanction of a letter from your father,
for introducing myself to you ; and as many calls are mere matters
of form, instead of knocking at your door, I take the liberty of beg
ging the favor of your company at dinner on Wednesday next, at a
quarter before five o'clock, at Kensington Gore (one mile from
Hyde Park corner), and of thereby securing the pleasure of an ac
quaintance with you. The high respect which I have long enter
tained for your father, in addition to the many obliging marks of
attention which I have received from him, render me desirous of
becoming personally known to you, and enable me with truth to
assure you I am, with good- will, sir,

" Your faithful servant,

"W. WlLBERFOKCE.
" MORSE, Esq."

This was the beginning of an acquaintance which proved to
be of great value to the young artist ; the recollections of it and
of the men with whom it brought him into contact being among
the pleasantest of his life.

Professor Morse was very fond of repeating to his friends
his pleasant recollections of intercourse with Benjamin "West,
Allston, Coleridge, Eogers, and other celebrated men of the

WEST'S PATRIOTISM.

day. Some of these reminiscences were preserved by Mr. James
Wynne :

West averred that the Revolutionary war was carried on and
troops sent in direct opposition to the judgment and wishes of the
king, who only yielded to the strong representations of his minis
try, that he had no right to dismember so large and important a
part of the British Empire. As an evidence of this, he cited the
case of Lord Mansfield, who, on the occasion of a question as to the
propriety of sending more troops to America, in the House of
Peers, remarked that " it was now time for the government to throw
off the mask." The king, who could be aroused on certain occa
sions, became exceedingly angry with Lord Mansfield for the man
ner in which he had procured his sanction to send troops, and di
rected him never to see his face again — an order which was never
relaxed.

It may be that West's partiality for the king induced him to
overlook his own part in the American war, and disposed him to
place on the shoulders of others the blame which should in part, at
least, have been borne by him. Be this as it may, the friendship
subsisting between them continued unabated, although occasions
were not wanting in which those who were jealous of the influence
of an American over the mind of their king strove to alienate their
friendship. West was fully aware of this, and, while he seldom paid
attention to these attempts, could not fail occasionally to be annoy
ed at them. As an illustration of this feeling he narrated to Morse
the following:

" ' While,' remarked West, ' the king was on a visit to me, news
was brought of an important victory of his troops over the rebels.
Not finding him at the palace, the messenger immediately traced
him to my studio, and communicated the intelligence. After this
was accomplished, turning to me, the messenger said :

" ' And are you not gratified at the success of his majesty's
troops ? '

" ' No,' I replied ; ' I can never rejoice in the misfortunes of my
countrymen.'

" 4 Right,' replied the king, rising and placing his hand approv
ingly on my shoulder. ' If you did, you would not long be a fit sub
ject for any government.' "

Among the members of the Royal Academy with whom Morse
was in the habit of frequent association, was Fuseli, whose erratic

52 LIFE OF SAMUEL B. F. MORSE.

genius is perpetuated in the remarkable productions of his pencil,
which at that time had great currency. Fuseli, who was a pro
found thinker and an agreeable companion, was on one occasion de
bating the question of the immortality of the soul with a disbe
liever.

" I do not know that your soul is immortal," said Fuseli to his
companion — " perhaps it is not ; but I know that mine is."

"Why so?" demanded his companion, greatly astonished at
the comparison.

"Because," said Fuseli, "I can conceive more in one minute
than I can execute in a lifetime."

No stronger illustration than this can be given of the soul's im
mortality.

Another of these was Northcote, who did not affect to conceal
his jealousy of other artists. On one occasion Coleridge attempted
to take him to task for this unfortunate trait in his character.
" Nonsense ! " replied Northcote. " You possess, all men of genius
possess, the same quality. As a test, are you willing to admit that
Southey is as great a poet as yourself? "

" To be sure I am," replied Coleridge.

"Will you confess," continued Northcote, "that if you saw
Southey standing under that beam" — pointing to the one above his
head — " yOU would not secretly wish it to fall on and crush him ? "

It must be admitted that Northcote' s envy was inveterate and
incurable.

Coleridge, who was a visitor at the rooms of Leslie and Morse,
frequently made his appearance under the influence of those fits of
despondency to which he was subject. On these occasions, by a
preconcerted plan, they often drew him from this state of despon
dency to one of brilliant imagination. " I was just wishing to see
you," said Morse, on one of these occasions, when he entered with
a hesitating step, and replied to their frank salutations with a
gloomy aspect and deep-drawn sighs. " Leslie and myself have
had a dispute about certain lines of beauty ; which is right ? "
And then each argued with the other for a few moments, until Cole
ridge became interested, and, rousing from his fit of despondency,
spoke with an eloquence and depth of metaphysical reasoning on
the subject far beyond the comprehension of his auditors. Their
point, however, was gained, and Coleridge was again the eloquent,
the profound, the gifted being which his remarkable productions
show him to be.

COLERIDGE AND ALLSTON. 53

" On one occasion," says Morse, " I heard him improvise, for
half an hour, in blank verse, what he stated to be a strange dream,
which was full of those wonderful creations that glitter like dia
monds in his poetical productions."

" All of which," remarked I, " is undoubtedly lost to the world."
" Not all," replied Mr. Morse, " for I recognize in the ' Ancient
Mariner ' some of the thoughts of that evening ; but doubtless the
greater part, which would have made the reputation of any other
man, perished with the moment of inspiration, never again to be
recalled."

When his tragedy of " Remorse," which had a run of twenty-one
nights, was first brought out, Washington Allston, Charles King,
Leslie, Lamb, Morse, and Coleridge, went together to witness its
performance. They occupied a box near the stage, and each of the
party was as much interested in its success as Coleridge himself.

The effect of the frequent applauses upon Coleridge was very
manifest ; but when, at the end of the piece, he was called for by
the audience, the intensity of his emotions was such as none but
one gifted with the fine sensibilities of a poet could experience.
Fortunately, the audience was satisfied with a mere presentation of
himself. His emotions would have precluded the idea of his speak
ing on such an occasion.

Allston, soon after this, became so much out of health that he
thought a change of air, and a short residence in the country,
might relieve him. He accordingly set out on this journey, accom
panied by Leslie and Morse. When he reached Salt Hill, near Ox
ford, he became so ill as to be unable to proceed, and requested
Morse to return to town for his medical attendant, Dr. Tuthill, and
Coleridge, to whom he was ardently attached. Morse accordingly
returned, and, procuring a post-chaise, immediately set out for Salt
Hill, a distance of twenty-two miles, accompanied by Coleridge and
Dr. Tuthill. They arrived late in the evening, and were busied
with Allston until midnight, when/he became easier, and Morse and
Coleridge left him for the night. Upon repairing to the sitting-
room of the hotel, Morse opened Knickerbocker's " History of New
York," which he had thrown into the carriage before leaving town.
Coleridge asked him what work he had.

" Oh," replied he, " it is only an American book ! "

" Let me see it," said Coleridge. He accordingly handed it to
him, and he was soon buried in its pages. Mr. Morse, overcome by
the fatigues of the day, soon after retired to his chamber and fell

54

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

asleep. On awakening the next morning, he repaired to the sit
ting-room, when what his astonishment to find it still closed, with
the lights burning, and Coleridge busy with the book he had lent
him the previous night !

" Why, Coleridge," said he, approaching him, " have you been
reading the whole night ? "

" Why," remarked Coleridge, abstractedly, " it is not late."

He replied by throwing open the blinds and permitting the
broad daylight, for it was now ten o'clock, to stream in upon them.

" Indeed," said Coleridge, " I had no conception of this ; but
the work has pleased me exceedingly. It is admirably written ;
pray, who is its author ? "

He was informed that it was the production of Washington Ir
ving. It is needless to say that, during the long residence of
Irving in London, they became warm friends.

Among the literary acquaintances formed by Morse in London
at this period was Rogers, the poet, whose breakfasts attained
so wide a celebrity. At one of these, at which Leslie and Morse
were the only guests, Rogers waggishly remarked to Morse that
his friend Leslie was a very clever artist, but that it was. a great
pity that he did not throw more grace and beauty into his female
figures.

Now, if Leslie prided himself upon any thing, it was precisely
upon the grace and symmetry of his female figures, in which he
particularly excelled, and so Morse informed him.

"Yoii think so," said Rogers, quietly indulging in a pleasant
laugh at his own waggery, and changed the conversation, without
explanation, to another subject.

It is well known that Rogers's house was literally made up of
choice gems, and among these was a sketch of the " Miracle of the
Slain " by Tintoretto, which Rogers informed Morse was executed
by that great artist preparatory to the execution of the painting it
self.

Morse asked Rogers where the original now was, as he had an
order to paint a copy of it, and supposed, as it had been captured
by Napoleon I., it was in Paris. Rogers informed him that it had
been returned to Venice, where Morse afterward found it in the
Academy of Fine Arts, immediately opposite Titian's "Assump
tion of the Virgin." The copy he then made, and which upon the
death of its owner fell again into his hands, was among his own
pictures as long as he lived. Fuseli, who at the time of Mr.

DR. ABERNETHY. 55

Morse's residence in London was at the zenith of his fame, consid
ered the original the finest picture in the world.

At this period Abernethy was in the full tide of his popularity
as a surgeon, and Allston, who had for some little time had a grum
bling pain in his thigh, proposed to Morse to accompany him to the
house of the distinguished surgeon to consult him on the cause of
the ailment. As Allston had his hand on the bell-pull, the door was
opened and a visitor passed out, immediately followed by a coarse-
looking person with a large, shaggy head of hair, whom Allston at
once took for a domestic. He accordingly inquired if Mr. Aber
nethy was in.

" What do you want of Mr. Abernethy ? " demanded this un
couth-looking person, with the harshest possible Scotch accent.

"I wished to see him," gently replied Allston, somewhat
shocked by the coarseness of his reception ; " Is he at home ? "

" Come in, come in, mon," said the same uncouth personage.

" But he may be engaged," responded Allston ; " perhaps I had
better call another time."

" Come in, mon, I say," replied the person addressed, and partly
by persuasion and partly by force, Allston, followed by Morse, was
induced to enter the hall, which they had no sooner done than the
person who admitted them closed the street-door, and, placing his
back against it, said, " Now tell me what is your business with Mr.
Abernethy. I am Mr. Abernethy."

" I have come to consult you," replied Allston, " about an affec
tion—"

" What the de'il hae I to do with your affections ? " bluntly in
terposed Abernethy.

" Perhaps, Mr. Abernethy," said Allston, by this time so com
pletely overcome by the apparent rudeness of the eminent surgeon
as to regret calling on him at all, " you are engaged at present, and
I had better call again."

" De'il the bit, de'il the bit, mon," said Abernethy. " Come in,
come in," and he preceded them to his office, and examined his
case, which proved to be a slight one, with such gentleness as al*
most to lead them to doubt whether Abernethy within his consult
ing-room, and Abernethy whom they had encountered in the pas
sage, was really the same personage.

The first portrait Mr. Moi'se painted in London was that of
his friend Leslie, and Leslie at the same time made a portrait of

56 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Morse. His mother received a letter in the spring of 1812,
from a lady in Philadelphia, in which these portraits are alluded
to:

" I have this moment received a letter from Miss Vaughan in
London, dated February 20th, and knowing the passage below would
be interesting to you, I transcribe it with pleasure, and add my
very sincere wish that all your hopes may be realized :

" ' Dr. Morse's son is considered a young man of very promising
talents by Mr. Allston and Mr. West, and by those who have seen
his paintings. ^ We have seen him, and think his modesty and ap
parent amiableness promise as much happiness to his friends as his
talents may procure distinction for himself. He is peculiarly fortu
nate, not only in having Mr. Allston for his adviser and friend, but
in his companion in painting, Mr. Leslie, a young man from Phila
delphia, highly recommended, and whose extreme diffidence adds
to the most promising talents, the patient industry, and desire of
improvement, which are necessary to bring them to perfection.
They have been drawing each other's pictures. Mr. Leslie is in the
Spanish costume, and Mr. Morse in a Highland dress. They are in
a very unfinished state, but striking likenesses.' This Highland
lad, I hope, my dear friend, you will see, and in due time be again
blessed with the original."

Samuel F. JB. Morse to his Parents.

" LONDON, March 24, 1813.

" With regard to my expenses, I got through the first year with
two hundred pounds, and hope the same sum will carry me through
the second. If you knew the manner in which we live, you would
wonder how it was possible I could have made so great a change
in my habits. I am obliged to screwT and pinch myself in a thousand
things in which I used to indulge myself at home. I am treated
with no dainties, no fruit, no nice dinners (except once in an age,
when invited to a party at an American table), no fine tea-parties,
as at home. All is changed ; I breakfast on simple bread-and-butter
and two cups of coffee ; I dine on either beef, mutton, or pork (veal
being out of the question, as it is one shilling and sixpence per
pound), baked with potatoes, warm perhaps twice a week, all the
rest of the week cold. My drink is water, porter being too expen
sive. At tea, bread-and-butter, with two cups of tea. This is my
daily round. I have had no new clothes for nearly a year ; my best
are threadbare, and my shoes out at the toes, my stockings all

THE USE OF, MONEY. 57

want to see my mother, and my hat is growing hoary with age.
This is my picture in London, do you think you would know it ?
4 But,' you will say, c what do you do with the money if .you live thus
sparingly ? ' Why, I will tell you the whole. When I first came to
London, I was told, if I meant to support the character of a gentle
man, I must take especial care of my personal appearance ; so I
thought it a matter of course that I must spare no expense in order
to appear well. So, this being first in my mind, I (supposing
very wisely that London folks had nothing else to do but to see
how I was dressed) laid out a considerable part of my money on
myself; meanwhile, picture-galleries and collections, with many
other places which I ought constantly to have visited, and which
cost some money, were neglected ; and why ? because I could not
afford it ! Well, in process of time, I found no very particular
advantage to be gained by supporting the character of a gentleman,
for these reasons: in the first place, nobody saw me ; in the second
place, if they had seen me, they would not have known me ; and,
thirdly, if they had known me, they would not have cared a farthing
about me. So I thought within myself what I came to England for,
and I found that it was not to please English folks, but to study
painting ; and, as I found I must sacrifice painting to dress and
visiting, or dress and visiting to painting, I determined on the latter,
and ever since have lived accordingly, and now the tables are turned :
I visit galleries and collections, purchase prints, etc., and, when I
am asked why I don't pay more attention to my dress, I reply that
I cannot afford it. Provision of every kind is excessively high here,
and is increasingly so. A pair of fowls, such as we could get in
America for about three shillings per pair, are eighteen shillings
sterling ; a turkey, from ten shillings sixpence to a guinea ; beef
is thirteen pence per pound ; pork, fourteen pence ; mutton, one shil
ling ; and veal, as I said before, one shilling and sixpence ; bread is
one shilling and eightpence the quartern loaf, half of one of* which
we eat in a day. Every thing seems to be in proportion : shoes are
from fifteen shillings to a guinea per pair, boots three pounds, and
so on. By this you can form a slight estimate how much it costs to
live in this country. It is known by the experience of two or three
Americans, whom I know, that a pound goes no farther in England
than a dollar in America. My greatest expense, next to living, is
for canvas, frames, colors, etc., and visiting galleries. The frame
of my large picture which I have just finished cost nearly twenty
pounds, besides the canvas and colors, which cost nearly eight

58 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

pounds more, and the frame was the cheapest I could possibly get.
Mr. Allston's frame cost him sixty guineas. Frames are very expen
sive things, and on that account I shall not attempt another large
picture foV some time, although Mr. West advises me to paint large
as much as possible. The picture which I have finished is ' The
Death of Hercules ; ' the size is eight feet by six feet and six inches.
This picture I showed to Mr. West a few weeks ago, and he was
extremely pleased with it, and paid me many very high compliments ;
but, as praise comes better from another than from one's self, I shall
send you a complimentary note which Mr. West has promised to
send me on the occasion. I sent the picture to the Exhibition at
Somerset House, which opens on the 3d of May, and have the sat
isfaction, not only of having it received, but of having the praises
of the council who decide on the admission of pictures. Six hun
dred pictures were refused admission this year, so you may suppose
that a picture (of the size, too, of which mine was) must possess
some merit to be received in preference to six hundred ! A small
picture may be received, even if it is not very good, because it will
serve to fill up some little space which would otherwise be empty,
but a large picture, from its excluding many small ones, must pos
sess a great deal in its favor in order to be received.

" If you recollect, I told you I had completed a model of a single
figure of the same subject ; this I sent to the Society of Arts at the
Adelphi, to stand for the prize (which is offered every year for the
best performance in painting, sculpture, and architecture), and is
a gold medal ; yesterday I received the note accompanying this,
by which you will see that it is adjudged to me in sculpture this
year ; it will be delivered to me in public on the 13th of May or
June, I don't know which, but I shall give you a particular account
of the whole process as soon as I have received it. By knowing
these facts, you will perceive that I have not been idle since my
residence here. I wish I could send you some specimen of my
painting, but captains and passengers absolutely refuse carrying
any thing larger than a small package of letters ; and indeed, if
there were opportunities, I could at present send nothing very in
teresting to you, my works consisting merely of drawings of
heads, hands, and feet, and now and then a portrait for improve
ment. I shall soon commence some of papa's friends ; Dr. Lettsom
I shall ask first, Mr. Wilberforce I shall also ask, but do not know
whether he will have time to sit to me. Sir Joshua Banks is now
very ill indeed, and I doubt whether he will recover, and, even if he

EULOGY OFALLSTON. 59

does, there is so much ceremony necessary, and it is considered so
great a favor for a man of his rank to sit to an obscure artist, that I
doubt very much whether I should be able to obtain his consent ;
he might consent, however, if I mentioned that it was my father's
request ; and, if he recovers, I shall at least ask him.

" I cannot close this letter without telling you how much I am
indebted to that excellent man Mr. Allston ; he is extremely partial
to me, and has often told me that he is proud of calling me his
pupil ; he visits me every evening, and our conversation is gener
ally upon the inexhaustible topic of our divine art, and upon home,
which is next in our thoughts. I know not in what terms to speak
of Mr Allston. I can truly say I do not know the slightest imper
fection in him ; he is amiable, affectionate, learned, possessed of the
greatest powers of mind and genius, modest, unassuming, and,
above all, a religious man. You may perhaps suppose that my par
tiality for him blinds me to his faults, but no man could conceal,
on so long an acquaintance, every little foible from one constantly
in his company ; and, during the whole of my acquaintance with
Mr. Allston, I never heard him speak a peevish word, or utter a
single inconsiderate sentence ; he is a man in praise of whom I can
not speak sufficiently, and my love for him I can only compare to
that love which ought to subsist between brothers. He is a man
for whose genius I have the highest veneration, for whose princi
ples I have the greatest respect, and for whose amiable qualities I
have an increasing love. I could write a quire of paper in his
praise, but all I could say of him would give you but a very imper
fect idea of him. To learn all his excellences, you must be ac
quainted with him. Do not think this mere fulsome compliment ;
what I write I write sincerely ; you know I am not in the habit of
writing what I don't think. You must recollect, when you tell
friends fhat I am studying in England, that I am a pupil of Mr.
Allston, and not Mr. West ; they will not long ask who Mr. All
ston is ; he will very soon astonish the world. He claims me as his
pupil, and told me a day or two since, in a jocose manner, that he
should have a battle with Mr. West unless he gave up all preten
sion to me. It is said, by the greatest connoisseurs in England,
who have seen some of Mr. Allston's works, that he is destined to
revive the art of painting in all its splendor, and that no age ever
boasted of so great a genius. It might be deemed invidious (and
therefore I should not wish it mentioned as coming from me), were
I to make public another opinion of the first men in this country :

60 LIFE OF SAMUEL B. F. MORSE.

it is, that Mr. Allston will almost as far surpass Mr. West as Mr.
West has other artists, and this is saying a great deal, considering
the very high standing which Mr. West holds at present."

Samuel F. B. Morse to his Parents.

"LONDON, May 2, 1814.

" You will probably, before this reaches you, hear of the splen
did entree of Louis XVIII. into London. I was a spectator of this
scene. On the morning of the day, about ten o'clock, I went into
Piccadilly, through which the procession was to pass ; I did not find
any great concourse of people at that hour, except before the Poult-
ney Hotel, where the sister of the Emperor Alexander resides, on a
visit to this country, the Grand-duchess of Oldenburg. I thought
it probable that, as the procession would pass this place, there
would be some uncommon occurrence taking place before it, so
I took my situation directly opposite, determined at any rate to se
cure a good view of what happened. I waited four or five hours,
during which time the people began to collect from all quarters ;
the carriages began to thicken, the windows and fronts of the
houses began to be decorated with the white flag, white ribbons, and
laurel. Temporary seats were fitted up on all sides, which began to
be filled, and all seemed to be in preparation. About this time the
king's splendid band of music made its appearance, consisting, I
suppose, of more than fifty musicians, and to my great gratification
placed themselves directly before the hotel ; they began to play, and
soon after the grand-duchess, attended by several Russian noble
men, made her appearance on the balcony, followed by the Queen
of England, the Princess Charlotte of Wales, the Princess Mary,
Princess Elizabeth, and all the female part of the royal family.
From this fortunate circumstance, you will see that I had an excel
lent opportunity of observing their persons and countenances. The
Duchess of Oldenburg is a common-sized woman, of about four or
five-and-twenty ; she has rather a pleasant countenance, blue eyes,
pale complexion, regular features, her cheek-bones high but not dis
agreeably so. She resembles very much her brother the emperor,
judging from his portrait. She has with her her little nephew, Prince
Alexander, a boy of about three or four years old. He was a lively
little fellow, playing about, and was the principal object of the at
tention of the royal family. The queen, if I was truly directed
to her, is an old woman of very sallow complexion, and nothing
agreeable either in her countenance or deportment; and, if she was

THE KING OF FRANCE. 61

not called a queen, she might as well be any ugly old woman. The
Princess Charlotte of Wales I thought pretty ; she has small features,
regular, pale complexion, great amiability of expression, and con
descension of manners ; the Princess Elizabeth is extremely corpulent,
and from what I could see of her face was agreeable, though nothing
remarkable. One of the others, I think it was the Princess Mary,
appeared to have considerable vivacity in her manners ; she was
without any covering to her head ; her hair was sandy, which she
wore cropped ; her complexion was probably fair originally, but was
rather red now ; her features were agreeable.

" It now began to grow late, the people were beginning to be
tired, wanting their dinners, and the crowd to thicken, when a uni
versal commotion, and murmur through the crowd and from the
house-tops, indicated that the procession was at hand. This was fol
lowed by the thunder of artillery, and the huzzas of the people tow
ard the head of the street, where the houses seemed to be alive with
the twirling of hats and shaking of handkerchiefs. This seemed to
mark the progress of the king ; for, as he came opposite each house,
these actions became most violent, with cries of c Vivent les ^Bour
bons ! ' ' Vive le roi ! J 4 Vive Louis ! ' etc. I now grew several
inches taller ; I stretched my neck, and opened my eyes. One car
riage appeared, drawn by six horses, decorated with ribbons, and
containing some of the French noblesse ; another, of the same de
scription, with some of the French royal family. At length came a
carriage drawn by eight beautiful Arabian cream-colored horses;
in this were seated Louis XVIII., King of France, the Prince Regent
of England, the Duchess d'Angouleme, daughter of Louis XVI., .
and the Prince of Conde". They passed rather quickly, so that I had
but a glance at them, though a distinct one. The prince regent
I had often seen before ; the King of France I had a better sight of
afterward, as I will presently relate. The Duchess d'Angouleme
had a fine expression of countenance, owing probably to the occa
sion, but a melancholy cast was also visible through it ; she was
pale. The Prince of Conde" I have no recollection of. After this
part of the procession had passed, the crowd became exceedingly
oppressive, rushing down the street to keep pace with the king's
carriage. As the king passed the royal family, he bowed, which
they returned by kissing their hands to him and shaking their
handkerchiefs with great enthusiasm. After they had gone by,
the royal family left the balcony, where they had been between
two and three hours. My only object now was to get clear of the

63 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

crowd. I waited nearly three-quarters of an hour, and at length,
by main strength, worked myself edgewise across the street, where
I pushed down through stables and houses, and by-lanes, to get
thoroughly clear, not caring where I went, as I knew I could easily
find my way when I got into a street. This I at last gained, and,
to my no small astonishment, found myself by mere chance directly
opposite the hotel where Louis and his suite were. The prince
regent had just left the place ; and with his carriage went a great
part of the mob, which left the space before the house comparatively
clear. It soon filled again. I took advantage, however, and
got directly before the windows of the hotel, as I expected the
king would show himself, for the people were calling for him very
clamorously. I was not disappointed ; for, in less than half a min
ute, he came to the window, which was open, before which I was.
I was so near him I could have touched him ; he staid nearly ten
minutes, during which time I observed him carefully. He is very
corpulent — a round face, dark eyes, prominent features ; the char
acter of countenance much like portraits of the other Louises ;
a pleasant face, but, above all, such an expression of the moment
as I shall never forget, and in vain attempt to describe. His eyes
were suffused with tears, his mouth slightly open, with an unaffected
smile full of gratitude, and seemed to say to every one, ' Bless you ! '
His hands were a little extended sometimes, as if in adoration to
heaven, at others as if blessing the people. I entered into his
feelings. I saw a monarch, who for five-and-twenty years had been
an exile from his country, deprived of his throne ; and, until within
a few months, not the shadow of a hope remaining of ever returning
to it again. I saw him raised as if by magic from a private station
in an instant to his throne, to reign over a nation which has made
itself the most conspicuous of any nation on the globe. I tried
to think as he did, and, in the heat of my enthusiasm, I joined with
heart and soul in the cries of l Vive le roi! ' c Vive Louis I* which
rent the air from the mouths of thousands. As soon as he left
the window, I returned home much fatigued, but well satisfied
that my labor had not been for naught.

" Mr. Wilberforce is an excellent man ; his whole soul is bent
on doing; good to his fellow-men. Not a moment of his time is lost.
He is always planning some benevolent scheme or other ; and not
only planning but executing. He is made up altogether of affection
ate feeling. What I saw of him in private gave me the most ex
alted opinion of him as a Christian. Oh, that such men as Mr. Wil-

THE WAR SPIRIT. 53

berforce were more common in this world. So much human blood
would not then be shed to gratify the malice and revenge of a few
wicked, interested men.

" I hope Cousin Samuel Breese will distinguish himself under so
gallant a commander as Captain Perry. I shall look with anxiety
for the sailing of the Guerriere ; there will be plenty of opportu
nities for him, for peace with us is deprecated by the people here,
and it only remains for us to fight it out gallantly, as we are able to
do, or submit slavishly to any terms which they please to offer us ;
a number of humane schemes are under contemplation, such as burn
ing New London, for the sake of the frigates there, arming the
blacks in the Southern States, burning all of our principal cities,
and such like plans; which, from the supineness of the New-Eng
land people, may be easily carried into effect. But no, the humane,
generous English cannot do such base things — I hope not ; let the
event show it. It is, perhaps, well I am here, for, with my present
opinions, if I were at home, I should most certainly be in the army
or navy : my mite is small, but when my country's honor demands
it, it might help to sustain it. There can now be no French party.
I wish to know very much what effect this series of good news
will have at home. I congratulate you as well as all other good
people on the providential events which have lately happened ; they
must produce great changes with us ; I hope it will be for the best.

" I am in excellent health, and am painting away ; I am making
studies for the large picture I contemplate for next year. It will
be as large, I think, as Mr. Allston's famous one, which was ten feet
by fourteen."

Samuel F. B. Morse to a Friend.

"LONDON, May 30, 1813.

" You ask in your letter what books I read, and what I am
painting. The little time that I can spare from painting, I employ
in reading and studying the old poets — Spenser, Chaucer, Dante,
Tasso, etc., etc. ; these are necessary to a painter. As to painting, I
have just finished a large picture, eight feet by six and a half, the
c Death of Hercules,' which is now in the Royal Academy exhibi
tion at Somerset House. I have been nattered by the newspapers,
which seldom praise young artists, and they do me the honor to
say that my picture, with the pictures of another young man by the
name of Monroe, form a distinguished trait in this year's exhibition ;
and, in enumerating about fifty of the preeminent works of the ex-

64 LIFE OF SAMUEL P. B. MORSE.

hibition, they have placed mine in the list. There were exhibited
this year nearly one thousand pictures ; and about two thousand
were offered, but the rest were rejected. This praise I consider
much exaggerated. Mr. West, however, who saw it as soon as I
had finished it, paid me many compliments, and told me that, were
I to live to his age, I should never make a better composition — this
I consider but a compliment, and as meant only to encourage me ;
as such I receive it. A few days since I had the honor of receiving
the prize gold medal offered for the best piece of sculpture at the
Adelphi Society of Arts this year, which was presented me by the
Duke of Norfolk. I mention these circumstances merely to show
that I am getting along as well as can be expected, and, if any
credit attaches to me, I willingly resign it to my country, and feel
happy that I can contribute a mite to her honor."

Samuel F. B. Morse to his Parents.

"LONDON, June 13, 1813.

" I send by this opportunity (Mr. Elisha Goddard) the little
cast of the ' Hercules ' which obtained the prize this year at the Adel
phi, and also the gold medal which was the premium presented to
me before a large assembly of the nobility and gentry of the coun
try, by the Duke of Norfolk, who also paid me a handsome compli
ment at the same time. There were present Lord Percy, the Mar
gravine of Anspach, the Turkish, Sardinian, and Russian ambassa
dors, who were pointed out to me, and many noblemen whom I do
not now recollect. My large picture also has not only been received
at the Royal Academy, but has one of the finest places in the
rooms. It has been spoken of in the papers. They not only praise
me, but place my picture among the most attractive in the exhi
bition. This I know will give you pleasure, and I write it with
great pleasure. I also send a catalogue of the exhibition, with one
of the papers which criticises my picture, that you may see for your
selves."

The early triumphs of men are more highly valued than suc
cesses in after-life. Among the papers that Mr. Morse preserved
to the day of his death is a copy of the British Press, May 4,
1813, in which his picture " The Dying Hercules " is placed
among the nine best paintings in a gallery of nearly one thou
sand, and among them the works of Turner, ISTorthcote, Law
rence, and "Wilkie.

TWENTY PRINCES IN LONDON. 65

Samuel F. B. Morse to his Parents.

" LONDON, June 15, 1814.

" I expected at this time to have been in Bristol, with Mr. and
Mrs. Allston, who are now there, but the great fetes in honor of the
peace, and the visit of the allied sovereigns, have kept me in Lon
don till all is over. There are now in London upward of twenty
foreign princes, also the great Emperor Alexander, and the King of
Prussia. A week ago yesterday they arrived in town, and, contrary
to expectation, came in a very private manner. I went to see their
entree, but was disappointed, with the rest of the people, for the Em
peror Alexander, disliking all show and parade, came in a private
carriage, and took an indirect route here. The next and following
day I spent in endeavoring to get a sight of them. I have been
very fortunate, having seen the Emperor Alexander no less than
fourteen times, so that I am quite familiar with his face ; the King
of Prussia I have seen once ; Marshal Blucher five or six times ;
Count Platoff three or four times ; besides Generals de Yorck,
Bulow, etc. — all whose names must be perfectly familiar to you,
and the distinguished parts they have all acted in the great scenes
just past. The" Emperor Alexander I am quite in love with ; he has
every mark of a great mind. His countenance is an uncommonly
fine one; he has a fair complexion, hair rather light, and a stout,
well-made figure ; he has a very cheerful, benevolent expression,
and his conduct has everywhere evinced that his face is the index
of his mind. When I first saw him he was dressed in a green uni
form, with two epaulets and stars of different orders ; he was con
versing at the window of his hotel with his sister, the Duchess of
Oldenburg ; I saw him again soon after, in the superb coach of the
prince regent, with the duchess his sister, going to the court of
the queen. In a few hours after I saw him again, on the balcony of
the Poultney Hotel ; he came forward and bowed to the people. He
was then dressed in a red uniform, with a broad blue sash over the
right shoulder ; he appeared to great advantage. He staid about
five minutes. I saw him again five or six times through the day,
but got. only indifferent views of him. The following day, however,
I was determined to get a better and nearer view of him than be
fore. I went down to his hotel about ten o'clock, the time when I
supposed he would leave it; I saw one of the prince's carriages
drawn up, which opened at the top, and was thrown back before
and behind. In a few minutes the emperor with his sister made
their appearance and got into it. As the carriage started, I pressed
5

66 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOKSE.

forward and got hold of the ring of the coach-door and kept pace
with it for about a quarter of a mile. I was so near that I could
have touched him ; he was in a plain dress, a brown coat, and alto
gether like any other gentleman. His sister, the duchess, also was
dressed in a very plain, unattractive manner, and, if it had not been
for the crowd which followed, they would have been taken for any
lady and gentleman taking an airing. In this unostentatious man
ner does he conduct himself, despising all pomp, and seems rather
more intent upon inspecting the charitable, useful, and ornamental
establishments of the country, with a view, probably, of benefiting
his own dominions by his observations, than of displaying his rank
by the splendor of dress and equipage. His condescension also is
no less remarkable ; an instance or two will exemplify it : On the
morning after his arrival, he was up at six o'clock, and while the
lazy inhabitants of this great city were fast asleep in their beds, he
was walking with his sister the duchess in Kensington Gardens ;
as he came across Hyde Park, he observed a corporal drilling some
recruits, upon which he went up to him and entered into familiar
conversation with him, asking him a variety of questions, and, when
he had seen the end of the exercise, shook him heartily by the hand
and left him. As he was riding on horseback, he shook hands with
all who came round him.

" A few days ago, as he was coming out of the gate of the London
Docks, on foot, after having inspected them, a great crowd was
waiting to see him, among whom was an old woman of about
seventy years of age, who seemed very anxious to get near him,
but, the crowd pressing very much, she exclaimed * Oh, if I could
but touch his clothes ! ' The emperor overheard her, and, turn
ing round, advanced to her, and, pulling off his glove, gave her his
hand, and, at the same time dropping a guinea into it, said to
her, ' Perhaps this will do as well.' The old woman was quite
overcome, and cried ' God bless your majesty ! ' till he was out of
sight.

" An old woman in her ninetieth year sent a couple of pair of
warm woolen stockings to the emperor, and with them a letter stat
ing that she had knit them with her own hands expressly for him,
and, as she could not afford to send him silk, she thought that wool
en would be much more acceptable, and would also be more useful
in his climate. The emperor was very much pleased, and determined
on giving her his miniature set in gold and diamonds, but, upon
learning that her situation in life was / such that money would be

THE EMPEROR ALEXANDER. 67

more acceptable, he wrote her an answer, and, thanking her heartily
for her present, inclosed her one hundred pounds.

" These anecdotes speak more than volumes in praise of the
Emperor Alexander. He is truly a great man. He is a great con
queror, for he has subdued the greatest country in the world, and
overthrown the most alarming despotism that ever threatened man
kind. He is great also because he is good ; his whole time seems
spent in distributing good to all around him; and wherever he
goes he makes every heart rejoice. He is very active, and is all his
time on the alert in viewing every thing that is worth seeing. The
emperor is also extremely partial to the United States ; every thing
American pleases him, and he seems uncommonly interested in the
welfare of our country. I was introduced to-day to Mr. Harris, our
charge cVaffaires to the court of Russia. He is a very intelligent,
fine man, and is a great favorite with Alexander. From a conver
sation with him, I have a scheme in view which, when I have ma
tured, I will submit to you for your approbation.

" The King of Prussia I have seen but once, and then had but
an imperfect view of him. He came to the window with the prince
regent, and bowed to the people (at St. James's Palace). He is
tall and thin, has an agreeable countenance, but rather dejected in
consequence of the late loss of his queen, to whom he was very
much attached.

" General Blucher, now Prince Blucher, I have seen five or six
times. I saw him on his entrance into London, all covered with
dust, and in a very ordinary kind of vehicle. On the day after, I
saw him several times in his carriage, drawn about wherever he
wished by the mob. He is J'ohn^s greatest favorite, and they
have almost pulled the brave general and his companion, Count
Platoff, to pieces, out of pure affection. Platoff had his coat act
ually torn off him, and divided into a thousand pieces as relics, lay
the good people — their kindness knows no bounds ; and I think, in
all the battles which they have fought, they never have run so
much risk of losing their limbs as in encountering their friends in
England. Blucher is a veteran-looking soldier ; a very fine head,
monstrous mustaches. His head is bald, like papa's ; his hair gray,
and he wears powder. Understanding that he was to be at Co vent
Garden Theatre, I went, as the best place to see him ; and I .was
not disappointed. He was in the prince's box, and I had a good
view of him during the whole entertainment, being directly before
him for three or four hours. A few nights since I also went to the

68 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

theatre to see Platoff^ the hetman (chief) of the Cossacks. He
has also a very fine countenance, a high and broad forehead, dark
complexion, and dark hair. He is tall and well made, as I think
the Cossacks are generally ; he was very much applauded by a
very crowded house, the most part collected to see him."

A very noted youth fell into the hands of Morse while in
London, and is thus mentioned in a letter from a friend of his :

" Morse and I intend going to Hampton Court as soon as we
have sent our pictures to the exhibition, and, Allston having prom
ised to accompany us, we shall have a very pleasant little jaunt.

" Zerah Colburn, the little calculator, has called on us two or
three times, as Morse is painting his portrait. He is a fine, lively
little fellow, and the most inquisitive child I ever saw. He has ex
cited much astonishment here, and, as they are very unwilling just
at this time to allow any cleverness to the Americans, it was said in
some of the papers that he was a Russian. There was some great
arithmetical question, I do not exactly know what, which he solved
almost as soon as it was put to him, though it for several years
baffled the skill of some of the first professors. His father expects
soon to return to America, and says he has collected money suffi
cient to educate his son. there, and that he now has power to prove
to the world how much he has been injured by the accusations of
avarice and selfishness that have appeared against him in the pub
lic prints."

The war between England and the United States (1S12-'14)
naturally imposed delicate and oftentimes responsible duties up
on American residents in London. Their kind offices were con
stantly sought by parties whose misfortunes had brought them
into trouble, or by those who did not wish to run the risk of
being detained in a hostile country. Of such applications as are
answered in this letter, Mr. Morse had many :

"LONDON, March 35, 1814.

" MY DEAR FRIEND : Your letter with Dr. Hay ward's came to
hand, some time ago, at Bristol. The moment I came to London I
presented your letter to Mr. Cooper, and he very politely gave me
a note to the Alien Office, which I presented. I have called since
about a dozen times to inquire the result of Mr. Cooper's applica
tion, and to-day received for answer that * England would not 'be
come the medium of communication between France and the

APPEAL TO MR. THORNTON. 69

United States? Please inform Dr. Gushing that, by the request of
Mr. Thornton, I made application to Mr. Cooper for him at the same
time, and Mr. Cooper's application was for both of you."
" Believe me sincerely yours,

"S. F. B. MOKSE."

Samuel F. B. Morse to Henry Thornton.

"BRISTOL, December 30, 1813.

"RESPECTED SIR: I take the liberty of addressing you in
behalf of an American prisoner of war now in the Stapleton
depot, and I address you, sir, under the conviction that a petition
in the cause of humanity will not be considered by you as obtrusive.
The prisoner I allude to is a gentleman of the name of Burritt,
a native of New Haven, in the State of Connecticut ; his connec
tions are of the highest respectability in that city, which is noto
rious for its adherence to Federal principles. His friends and rela
tions are among my father's friends, and although I was not, until
now, personally acquainted with him, yet his face is familiar to me,
and many of his relatives were my particular friends while I was
receiving my education at Yale College, in New Haven. From

that college he graduated in the year . A classmate of his was

the Rev. Mr. Stuart, who is one of the professors of the Andover
Theological Institution, and of whom I think my father has spoken
in some of his letters to Mr. Wilberforce. Mr. Burritt, after he left
college, applied himself to study, so much so as to injure his health,
and, by the advice of his physicians, he took to the sea as the only
remedy left for him. This had the desired effect, and he was re
stored to health in a considerable degree. Upon the breaking out
of the war with this country, all the American coasting-trade being
destroyed, he took a situation as second-mate in the schooner Re
venge, bound to France, and was captured on the 10th of May,
1813. Since that time he has been a prisoner, and from the in
closed certificates you will ascertain what has been his conduct
since. He is a man of excellent religious principles, and (I firmly be
lieve) of the strictest integrity. So well assured am I of this, that,
in case it should be required, Iicill hold my self bound to answer for
him 'in my own person. His health is suffering by his confinement,
and the unprincipled society which he is obliged to endure is pecul
iarly disagreeable to a man of his education. My object in stating
these particulars to you, sir, is (if possible and consistent with the
laws of the country), to obtain for him, through your influence, his

70 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

liberty on his parole of honor. By so doing you will probably be
the means of preserving the life of a good man, and will lay his
friends, my father and myself, under the greatest obligations.

" Trusting to your goodness to pardon this intrusion upon, your
time, I am, sir, with the highest consideration, your most obedient,
humble servant,

"SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE."

Henry Thornton, Esq., to Samuel F. J3. Morse.

" DEAE SIE : You will perceive by the inclosed that there is,
unhappily, no prospect of our effecting our wishes in respect to
your poor friend at Bristol. I shall be glad to know whether you
have had any success in obtaining a passport for Dr. Gushing.

" I am, dear sir, yours, etc.,

" H. THORNTON.
"BATAKIN, February 17, 1814."

Lord Melville to Mr. Thornton.

"ADMIRALTY, February 7, 1814.

" SIE : Mr. Hay having communicated to me a letter which he
received from you on the subject of Benjamin Burritt, an American
prisoner of war in the depot at Stapleton, I regret much that, after
consulting on this case with Sir Rupert George, and ascertaining
the usual course of proceeding in similar instances, I cannot dis
cover any circumstances that would justify a departure from the
rules observed toward other prisoners of the same description.
There can be no question that his case is a hard one ; but I am
afraid that it is inseparable from a state of war. It is not only not
a solitary instance among the French and American prisoners, but,
unless we were prepared to adopt the system of releasing all others
of the same description, we should find that the number who might
justly complain of undue partiality to this man would be very con
siderable.

" I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient and very hum
ble servant,

" MELVILLE."

S. E. Tyler to Samuel F. B. Morse.

" STAPLETON DEPOT, February 24, 1814.
" ME. SAMUEL F. B. MOESE —

"DEAE SIE: Having some knowledge of your family and
friends in Boston and Charlestown, I have taken the liberty to

DARTMOOR PRISON. 71

address this communication to you, hoping that my unhappy
situation will be a sufficient apology for the liberty I have taken.
I was captured in April, 1813, bound from Charleston, South
Carolina, to Bordeaux, and have been confined as a prisoner of
war ever since. During my confinement I have written several
times to my friends in Boston (of which place I am a native), but
as yet have been without advices from them, which I can attribute
to nothing but the obstacles in the communication between the
two nations. I was entirely ignorant of your having been at the
prison until to-day, when I received the information from Mr.
Burritt, and I regret exceedingly that it was not in my power to
have had an interview with you. I am a son of Mr. William Tyler,
who, before his decease, carried on the rope-making business in
West Boston, near the almshouse. I also have a brother-in-law,
Mr. John Andrews, who carries on the sail-making business at the
head of India Wharf, who is my guardian, and agent for me, as it
respects my father's estate.

" For reasons above stated I have been induced to make an ap
plication to you for pecuniary assistance, 'which, if you should be
disposed to grant, I will give you an order on my brother for the
amount, or will request him to repay it immediately to your corre
spondent either in Boston or Charlestown. Let me assure you, sir,
that I would not make this application to you unless strongly
prompted by most poignant suffering. Should you comply with
my request, you will have the satisfaction of relieving an unfortu
nate fellow-creature, and you will confer lasting obligations on me.

" If you would be good enough to inform me if there is any
prospect of peace, or the probability of the exchange of prisoners
being resumed, you will greatly oblige me. In the hope of shortly
hearing from you,

" I remain respectfully your obedient servant,

"SAMUEL E. TYLEK."

Mr. Morse had some warm friends and fellow-countrymen
residing at Bristol, and they encouraged him to believe that he
would find several willing to sit to him for their portraits if he
would visit that city. He did so, and found friends with whom
his time was pleasantly spent, but very little in the line of his
profession to reward him for leaving his studies and seeking
employment. A letter from Washington Allston, in London,
gives us insight into the life of artists :

72 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Allston to Morse.

" LONDON, January 2, 1814.

" MY DEAR SIR : In the first place, I wish you and all of Mr.
Visscher's family a happy New- Year. Last week I wrote you a let
ter that must have been vastly entertaining — as how f because it
was altogether about my own affairs. Now, for the sake of sym
metry, I send you another of the same kind.

" Since my return I have had the courage to examine the state
of my finances at my banker's, and found the balance in my favor
to have been reduced to so small a sum as makes me think 'tis
time to look about me ; and to endeavor, as soon as possible, after
the proper ways and means for increasing it. On considering the
subject, I was naturally led to the landscape in Bristol, when it
occurred to me that perhaps the price I had fixed for it (viz., six
hundred guineas) might be too high for that market ; and that I
should stand a better chance of selling it by reducing it to five
hundred. I would thank you to consult with Mr. Visscher on this
point ; for I depend so much on his judgment, that I should not
hesitate a moment to put it at five hundred guineas, provided he
should think that a more salable price. Will you write me im
mediately and let me know his opinion ?

" I gave the finishing touch to my picture yesterday, and shall
send it to the gallery to-morrow. Leslie's picture will do him great
honor ; he has improved it very much since his return. As to my
' own beautiful self? Mrs. A. says I am a picture of health. At
any rate I find my health every day improving, and promise myself
the pleasure of sending Mr. King a very favorable bulletin. Pray
be particular in letting us know how his two patients in Mr. Vis
scher's family bear this cold fog. We have had it so thick and brown
here, that it might well have passed for Shakespeare's ' blanket of
the dark ' that Macbeth speaks of. Mrs. A. unites with me in best
regards to our friends in Portland Square, and yourself.

" Sincerely yours,

" W. ALLSTON."

In the autumn of the same year, while Allston was at Bris
tol with Morse, Leslie wrote :

Leslie to Morse.

" LONDON, November 29, 1814.

11 MOST POTENT, GRAVE, AND REVEREND DOCTOR : I take up
my pencil to make ten thousand apologies to you for addressing

LETTER FROM LESLIE. 73

you in humble black-lead. Deeply impressed as I am with the full
conviction that you deserve the very best Japan ink, the only ex
cuse I can make to you is the following : it is perhaps needless to
remind you that the tools to which ink is applied to paper, in order
to produce writing, are made from goose-quills, which quills I am
goose enough not to keep a supply of; and, not having so much
money at present in my breeches-pocket as will purchase one, I am
forced to betake to my pencil, an instrument which, without paying
myself any compliment, I am sure I can wield better than a pen.
I am glad to hear that you are so industrious, and that Mr. A. is
succeeding so well with portraits. I hope he will bring all he has
painted to London. I am looking out for you every day. I think
we form a kind of family here, and I feel, in an absence from Mr.
and Mrs. A. and yourself, as I used to do when away from my
mother and sisters. By-the-by, I have not had any letters from
home for more than a month. It seems the Americans are all
united, and we shall now have war in earnest. I am glad of it
for many reasons. I think it wTill not only get us a more speedy
and permanent peace, but may tend to crush the demon of party-
spirit and strengthen our government.

" I am done painting the gallery, and have finished my drawings
for the prize : thank you for your good wishes.

" I thought Mr. Allston knew how proud I am of being consid
ered his student. Tell him, if he thinks it worth while to mention
me at all in his letter to Delaplaine, I shall consider it a great honor
to be called so.

" Yours most truly,

" 0. B. L."

Leslie to Morse.

" Mr. Allston and I have sent our pictures to the gallery. He
has made good interest to get his large one placed at the end of
one of the rooms. As to mine, it is of small consequence where
they put it. Mr. Allston, after finishing his < Diana,' showed it to
Mr. West, who was (to speak even moderately) in raptures with it.
He immediately called his son Raphael, { There,' says the old gen
tleman, * there, why there is nobody who does any thing like this.'
Raphael exclaimed, ' It looks like a bit of Titian.' c Oh yes,' an
swered his father, ' that's Titian's flesh, that's Titian's flesh.' After
this shower of compliments, Mr. Allston said, £ I am very highly
gratified, sir, to find it meets your approbation.11 4 Sir,' said Mr.

74 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

"West, c I cannot find words to express what I think of it.' He then
proceeded to point out the beauties of the parts, and praised the
composition, drawing, etc., as he had done the color. He seemed
particularly pleased with the landscape. He told Mr. Allston to
follow this up, adding, ' Sir, you will find thousands of people who
will give you two hundred guineas for a picture of this size, who
have not room in their houses for larger ones.' He said he could
have sold all the small sketches in his gallery many times over, but
he chose to keep them himself. Several he has sold, and painted
duplicates of them. Mr. Allston mentioned his subject of 4 Venus
and Adonis,' and Mr. West advised him by all means to paint it,
but not to have the figures the size of life. Mr. Allston is going to
begin the old gentleman's portrait very soon. He promises himself
much pleasure in the execution of it."

" Mr. Morse has related to me," says Dunlap, " some particulars
of a ramble he took in company with Earle, when they both were
students of the Royal Academy in 1813. With their sketch-books
and drawing apparatus, they visited the sea-shore and the towns
adjacent, making pedestrian excursions into the country in search
of scenery, and sometimes meeting an adventure. On one occasion,
their aim after a day's ramble was to reach Deal, and there put up
for the night ; but they found, when about five miles from the town,
that they had to cross a dreary moor, apd the sun was about to
withdraw his light from them. As they mounted a stile they were
met by a farmer, who accosted them with :

" ' Gentlemen, are you going to cross the moor so late ? '

" * Yes. We can't lose our way, can we ? '

" c No ; but you may lose your lives.'

"'How so?'

" ' Why there be always a power of shipping at Deal, and the
sailors be sad chaps ; they come ashore and rob and murder on the
moor, without your leave or by your leave.'

" ' Has any thing of the kind taken place lately ? '

1 Why, yes, a young woman was murdered not long ago by two
sailors. You will see the spot on your way, if you will go : there
is a pile of stones where she was killed. The fellows were taken,
and I saw them hanged.'

" ' So there is no danger from them, then.'

" * About a mile farther on you will see bushes on your left
hand — there a man was murdered not long ago ; but the worst

MEETING A GHOST. 75

place is farther on. You will come to a narrow lane with a hedge on
each side ; it will be dark before you get there, and in that lane
you will come to a stile, and just beyond you will see a white stone
set up, and on it is written all the circumstances of the murder of
a young woman, a neighbor of mine, who was coming home from
town all dressed in white, with a bundle in her hand, tied in a
dark-red handkerchief. But, gentlemen, you had better turn back
and stop the night at my house, and you shall be heartily wel
come.'

" They thanked him, but saying they were two, and a match for
two, they full of confidence pursued their route. It soon became
twilight, l^hey found the heap of stones, and a slight shudder oc
curred when looking on the dreary scene, and the mark by which
murder was designated. They passed on rather tired, and striving
to keep up each other's courage until they came to the bushes.
Here was another spot where foul murder had been committed.
They quickened their pace as they found darkness increase ; and
now they came to the lane with the high hedge-row on each side,
which rendered their way almost a path of utter darkness. They
became silent, and with no pleasant feelings expected to see the
stile, and, if not too dark, the stone erected to commemorate the
murder of the young girl in white with the dark-red handkerchief.

" ' What's that ? ' said Earle, stopping.

" ' I see nothing,' said Morse — ' yes — now, that I stoop down, I
see the stile.'

" ' Don't you see something white beyond the stile ? '

" ' That, I suppose, is the white stone.'

" ' Stones do not move,' said Earle.

" Morse stooped again, so as to bring the stile against the sky
as a background, and whispered : c I see some one on the stile —
hush ! '

" A figure now approached, and, as they stood aside to give am
ple room for it to pass, they perceived a tall female dressed in white,
with a dark-red bundle in her hand. On came the figure, and the
lads gazed with a full recollection of the farmer's story of murder,
and some feelings allied to awe. On she came, and without no
ticing them passed to go over the moor.

" ' It will not do to let it go without speaking to it,' thought
Morse, and he called out, ' Young woman ! are you not afraid to
pass over the moor so late ? '

" < Oh no, sir,' said the ghost, « I live hard by, and when I've

76 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

done work I am used to crossing the moor in the eve — good-night,'
and on she tripped.

" The young painters laughed at each other, and pursued their
way without further thought of ghosts or murderers. They saw,
indeed, the murder-marking monument, but it was too dark to read
the tale, and they soon found themselves in comfortable quarters,
after their long day's ramble, and forgot their fears and their
fatigues together.

" Eighteen years or more after, Mr. Morse inquired of Leslie for
their old companion, Earle, and learned that he had been rambling
far beyond Deal. £ He had visited every part of the Mediterranean,'
said Leslie, 'roamed in Africa, rambled in the United States,
sketched in South America, attempted to go to the Cape of Good
Hope in a worn-out Margate hoy, and was shipwrecked on Tristan
d'Acunha, where he passed six months with some old tars, who
hutted there. At length a vessel touched the desolate place and
released him. He then visited Van Diemen's Land, New South
Wales, and New Zealand, where he drew from the naked figure,
and saw the finest forms in the world addicted to cannibalism.

" Returning to Sydney, he, by way of variety, proceeded to the
Caroline Islands, stopped at the Ladrones, looked in upon Manila,
and finally settled himself at Madras, and made money as a portrait-
painter. Not content, he went to Pondicherry, and there embarked
for France, but stopped at the Mauritius, and, after some few more
calls at various places, found his way home. Here his sister had
married a Mr. Murray, a relative of the Duke of Athol, and, being left
a widow, he found a home as charge tf affaires for his grace, who,
you know, is a harmless madman, thinks himself overwhelmed with
business, and shuts himself up with books and papers, which he
cannot understand, and then calls for his coach, and, riding out on
some important errand, which forgotten, he returns again.

" Earle wrote and published his travels, and attracted some at
tention. One day he came to me with delight painted on his face.

" ' I am anchored for life ; I have an offer of two hundred pounds
a year, and every thing found me, only to reside under the roof of
the Duke of Athol, and ride out with him when he takes it in his
head to call his coach. I am settled at last ! '

" I congratulated him.

" ' You can write and draw at your leisure, and give us all your
adventures ? '

" l Yes, nothing could be happier.'

ALLSTON'S "DEAD MAN." 77

" A few weeks after Earle came again.

" ' Congratulate me, Leslie ! '

" ' What has happened ? '

" ' I have been offered a berth on a ship bound to the south
pole ! I have accepted it ; it is just what I wish.'

" And he is now in his element again ; for rove he must as long
as he lives."

Mr. Dunlap gives other incidents in the life of Morse, while
in London :

" The first portraits painted in London both by Morse and Les
lie were portraits of each other, in fancy costume. Morse was
painted by Leslie in a Scotch costume, with black-plumed bonnet,
and tartan plaid ; and Leslie by Morse in a Spanish cavalier's dress,
a Yandyck-ruff, black cloak, and slashed sleeves. Both these por
traits are at the house of their ancient hostess, who retains memen
tos of the like character — some product of the pencil of each of
her American inmates.

" It was about the year 1812 that Allston commenced his cele
brated picture of the l Dead Man restored to Life ~by touching the
Bon$s of Elisha] which is now in the Pennsylvania Academy of
Arts. In the study of this picture he made a model in clay of the
head of the dead man, to assist him in painting the expression.
This was the practice of the most eminent old masters. Morse had
begun a large picture to come out before the British public at the
Royal Academy exhibition. The subject was the ' Dying Hercules,'
and, in order to paint it with the more effect, he followed the example
of Allston, and determined to model the figure in clay. It was his
first attempt at modeling. His original intention was simply to
complete such parts of the figure as were useful in the single view
necessary for the purpose of painting ; but, having done this, he
was encouraged, by the approbation of Allston and other artists, to
finish the entire figure.

" After completing it, he had it cast in plaster of Paris, and
carried it to show to West. West seemed more than pleased with
it. After surveying it all round critically, with many exclamations
of surprise, he sent his servant to call his son Raphael. As soon
as Raphael made his appearance, he pointed to the figure, and
said:

" ' Look there, sir ; I have always told you any painter can
make a sculptor.'

78 LIFE OF SAMUEL B. F. MORSE.

" From this model, Morse painted his picture of the * Dying Her
cules,' of colossal size, and sent it, in May, 1813, to the Royal
Academy exhibition at Somerset House.

" The picture was well received. A critic of one of the jour
nals of that day, in speaking of the Royal Academy, thus notices
Morse: 'Of the academicians, two or three have distinguished
themselves in a preeminent degree ; besides, few have added much
to their fame, perhaps they have hardly sustained it. But the
great feature in this exhibition is, that it presents several works of
very high merit by artists with whose performances, and even with
whose names, we were hitherto unacquainted. At the head of this
class are Messrs. Monro and Morse. The prize of History may be
contended for by MY. NortUcote and Mr. Stothard. We should award
it to the former. After these gentlemen, Messrs. Hilton, Turner,
Lane, Monro, and Morse, follow in the same class.' — (London
Globe, May 14, 1813.)

" In commemorating the ' preeminent works of this exhibition,'
out of nearly two thousand pictures, this critic places the ' Dying
Hercules ' among the first twelve. This success of his first picture
was highly encouraging to Morse, but it was not confined to the
picture. Upon showing the plaster model to an artist of eminence,
he was advised by him to send it to the Society of Arts to take its
chance for the prize in sculpture, offered by that society, for an
original cast of a single figure. Finding that the figure he had
modeled came within the rules of the society, he sent it to their
rooms, and was not a little astonished a few days after at receiving
a notice to appear on the 13th of May, in the great room of the
Adelphi, to receive in public the gold medal, which had been
adjudged to his model of the 'Hercules.' On that day there were
assembled the principal nobility of Britain, the foreign ambassa
dors, and distinguished strangers ; among them but two Americans.
The Duke of Norfolk presided, and from his hands Morse received
the gold medal, with many complimentary remarks. It is worthy
of notice that at this period Great Britain and the United States
were at war. We see in this another instance of the impartiality
with which the English treated our artists. Allston and Leslie
were treated in the same manner during this period of national hos
tility. Allston says England made no distinction between Ameri
cans and her own artists ; yet Trumbull attributed his failure, at
this time, to the enmity of the English. We are glad to bear tes
timony to the good feeling of the enlightened public of Great

"THE JUDGMENT OF JUPITER." 79

Britain, which placed them above a mean jealousy or a barbaric
warfare upon the arts.

" Encouraged by this flattering reception of his first works in
painting and in sculpture, the young artist redoubled his energies
in his studies, and determined to contend for the highest premium
in historical composition, offered by the Royal Academy at the be
ginning of the year . 1814. The subject was i The Judgment of
Jupiter in the Case of Apollo, Marpessa, and Idas.' The premium
offered was a gold medal and fifty guineas. The decision was
to take place in December of 1815. The composition, containing
four figures, required much study; but by the exercise of great
diligence the picture was completed by the middle of July. Our
young painter had now been in England four years, one year longer
than the time allowed him by his parents, and he had to return
immediately home ; but he had finished his picture under the con
viction, strengthened by the opinion of West, that it would be
allowed to remain and compete with those of the other candidates.
To his regret, the petition to the council of the Royal Academy for
this favor, handed in to them by West, and advocated strongly by
him and Fuseli, was not granted. He was told that it was neces
sary, according to the rules of the Academy, that the artist should
be present to receive the premium ; it could not be received by
proxy. Fuseli expressed himself in very indignant terms at the
narrowness of this decision.

" Thus disappointed, the artist had but one mode of consolation.
He invited West to see his picture before he packed it up, at the
same time requesting Mr. West to inform him, through Mr. Leslie,
after the premiums should be adjudged in December, what chance
he would have had if he had remained. Mr. West, after sitting
before the picture for a long time, promised to comply with the re
quest; but added, 'You had better remain, sir.'"

The subsequent history of the plaster casts that were made
of the " Dying Hercules " is interesting. One of them found its
way into the basement of the Capitol of the United States, and
was there discovered by Mr. Morse under very extraordinary cir
cumstances, which will be stated hereafter. This cast he gave to
a friend, Rev. E. G. Smith, who wrote to Mr. Morse in 1860,
asking a brief statement of the circumstances of its execution
and its successful competition for the gold medal.

To this note Mr. Morse replied :

80 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" You ask if the cast of the ' Hercules ' is the original cast or a
copy. A mould was made from the original clay model, from
which were cast some five or six. I brought the mould with me
from England, but, through ignorance of its character, a man, in
cleaning house, supposed the parts to be broken plaster, and threw
them into the street during my absence at the South, so that the
original mould is destroyed. A copy, or rather one of the casts
from the original mould, was in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine
Arts, but was destroyed in the fire which consumed the Academy
building. A mutilated fragment of another is, or was, in the Na
tional Academy collection in New York. Yours is the only perfect
(so far as it is perfect) cast I know, the others having passed out
of my knowledge. A fresh mould was made from the cast in Phila
delphia many years ago by some moulders there, from which some
casts (how man^t I don't know) were made, and sold by them as
antique! So old Paff, an eccentric picture-dealer of olden time
once told me. But you want to know something of its early his
tory ; this I give you in brief :

"In the year 1812 I had so far advanced in my studies as to
attempt a large picture of a single figure. The subject I chose was
' The Death of Hercules.' My friend and master at this time was
Washington Allston, who was then painting his picture of the
' Dead Man restored to Life by touching the Bones of Elisha.' He
had modeled in clay the head of the ' dead man,' for the purpose of
aiding him in the painting, explaining to me that this was often the
practice of the most celebrated old masters. From this example I
determined to model the figure of the l Hercules ' to aid me in my
painting of the * Dying Hercules.' It was my first attempt at mod
eling, and as the model, so far as it was to be of use in my picture,
required only correctness and finish in one view of it, to wit, the
view chosen for the painting, I at first only completed it in that
view. At this point Mr. Allston expressed himself so pleased with
it, that he advised me to finish it in every view ; in other words, to
make a complete statue, alleging, among other reasons, that I should
thus become familiar with the human figure more readily than in
any other way. Hence, I completed the whole figure, and, on show
ing it to Mr. West, was much flattered by his praise of it. I was
advised by friends that a premium of a gold medal was offered for
just such an original model, and was recommended to send it to
the Adelphi Society of Arts to compete for this prize. I accord
ingly sent it to the rooms of the society, and, to my surprise, a

DEATH OF MRS. ALLSTON. 81

few days after, received the summons to appear on a certain day
at the rooms of the society in full meeting, to receive the gold
medal from the president, the Duke of Norfolk. This was during
the war of 1812 ; and I have often spoken of it as a pleasing inci-
cident, that, while a fierce strife was going on without between the
two nations as nations, yet, in the Department of Fine Arts at
least, there was a neutral peaceful ground on which artists and their
encouragers could stand and be in perfect harmony with each other."

Death of Mrs. Allston.

On the 2d day of February, 1815, Mrs. Allston died sud
denly in London. The blow was so fearful and unexpected,
that for a time it threatened to be fatal to the reason, if not to
the life, of the surviving husband. The next morning Mr.
Morse writes to his father :

" I write in great "haste and much agitation. Mrs. Allston, the
wife of our beloved friend, died last evening, and the event over
whelmed us all in the utmost sorrow. As for Mr. Allston, for sev
eral hours after the death of his wife he was almost bereft of his
reason. Mr. Leslie and I are applying our whole attention to him,
and we have so far succeeded as to see him more composed."

Mr. Morse wrote also to Mr. Channing, and, sending the
letter to Dr. Morse, requested him to communicate the distress
ing intelligence to Mr. Allston's friends. Mr. Leslie, in his au
tobiography, describes the scene of Mrs. Allston's death, and its
terrible effect upon the mind of the sensitive and devoted artist
and poet.

The sympathy of Mr. Allston's friends, and their great grief
with him in his sorrow, may be learned from this letter to Mr.
Morse from a gentleman in England to whom the intelligence
was sent :

Mr. J. J. Morgan to Mr. Morse.

" CALNE, WILTSHIRE, February, 1815.

" MY DEAR SIR : I received your letter only yesterday ; the
news it conveyed has literally stupefied us with affliction. It was
not possible for me to write yesterday, so completely was I terror-
stricken. It is with difficulty, and doubtless with incoherence, that I
now write. Mrs. Morgan and Miss Brent most bitterly lament that
you did not send for one or both of them. To have seen their
6

82 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOKSE.

friend, their more than sister, though but for her last departing
hour, would have been some consolation. Their distress is very
great. The only thought which now promises the least comfort is,
that so innocent, so excellent a woman is removed from this world
of trial and trouble to that of perfect happiness, and to a union
with her Creator.

" But what is now to be done with Allston ? Comfort it were
a mockery to attempt offering. Religion, and the impression of
time, are his only hope. But, pray, write to us, and say whether
we (any of us) can now be of any service. Mrs. M., or Charlotte,
or I, will come to town instantly, to be of the slightest service.
For Heaven's sake, write us ! Tell us every thing concerning
Allston; tell us every thing concerning our excellent friend de
parted — the pain, during her illness ; the burial, where ; what com
fort, what female friend or companion, had she ? I fear and tremble
while anticipating the particulars ; yet we must know them.

" Gracious God ! unsearchable indeed are Thy ways ! The insen
sible, the brutish, the wicked, are powerful; and everywhere, in
every thing, successful — while Allston, who is every thing that is
amiable, kind, and good, has been bruised, blow after blow ; and
now, indeed, his cup is full !

" I am too unwell, too little recovered from the effect of your
letter to write much. Coleridge intends writing to-day. I hope he
will. Allston may derive some little relief from knowing how
much his friends partake of his grief.

" Once more I entreat you to let us know if any of us can be
of the slightest service. Perhaps our excellent Allston would be
somewhat relieved by an excursion down here. With us he shall
meet with every attention possible. I will come up and fetch him,
upon your slightest hint of its usefulness. At any rate, I beg you
to write soon, and say every thing for us all to Allston, every
thing kind you can think of. You cannot say more than we feel."

In the month following, Mr. Morse wrote to his parents a
very full account of his temporary residence at Bristol, his
struggles to support himself, and the disappointments to which
he was subjected. In his letter dated March 10, 1815, he says :

"My jaunt to Bristol, in quest of money ^ completely failed.
When I was first there I expected, from the little connection I got
into, I should be able to support myself. I was obliged to come to
town on account of the exhibitions, and staid longer than I ex-

FAILURE IN BRISTOL. 83

pected, intending to return to Bristol. During this time I received
two pressing letters from Mr. Visscher (which I will show you),
inviting me to come down, saying that I should have plenty of
business. I accordingly hurried off. A gentleman, for whom I
had before painted two portraits, had promised, if I would let him
have them for ten guineas apiece, twelve being my price, he would
procure me five sitters. This I acceded to. I received twenty
guineas, and have heard nothing from the man since, though I par
ticularly requested Mr. Visscher to inquire, and remind him of his
promise. Yet he never did any thing more on the subject. I was
there three months, gaining nothing in my art, and without a
single commission. Mr. Breed, of Liverpool, then came to Bristol.
He took two landscapes, which I had been amusing myself with
(for I can say nothing more of them), at ten guineas each. I
painted two more landscapes, which are unsold. Mr. Visscher, a
man worth about a hundred thousand pounds, and whose annual
expenses, with a large family of seven children, are riot one thou
sand, had a little frame, for which he repeatedly desired me . to
paint a picture. I told him I would, as soon as I bad finished one
of my landscapes. I began it immediately, without his knowing it,
and determined to surprise him with it. I also had two frames
which fitted Mr. Breed's pictures, and which I was going to give to
Mr. Breed, with his pictures. But Mr. Visscher was particularly
pleased with the frames, as they were a pair, and told me not to
send them to Mr. Breed, as he should like to have them himself,
and wished I would paint him pictures to fit them (the twro
other landscapes before mentioned). I accordingly was employed
three months longer in painting these three pictures. I finished
them ; he was very much pleased with them ; all his family were
very much pleased with them ; all who saw them were pleased
with them. But he declined taking them, without even asking my
price, and said that he had more pictures than he knew what to do
with. Mr. and Mrs. Allston heard him say twenty times he wished

I would paint him a picture for the frame. Mr. A n, who knew

what I was about, told him, no doubt, I would do it for him, and, in
a week after, I had completed it. I had told Mr. Visscher, also, that
I was considerably in debt, and that, when he had paid me for these
pictures, I should be something in pocket, and, by his not objecting
to what I said, I took it for granted (and from his requesting me to
paint the pictures) that the thing was certain. But thus it was,
without giving any reason in the world, except that he had pictures

84 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

enough, he declined taking them, making me spend three months
longer in Bristol than I otherwise should have done, standing still
in my art, if not actually going hack, and run in debt for some
necessary expenses of clothing in Bristol, and my passage from and
back to London. During all this time not a single commission for
a portrait, many of which were promised me, nor a single call from
any one to look at my pictures. Thus ended my jaunt in quest of
money. Do not think that this disappointment is in consequence
of any misconduct of mine. Mr. Allston, who was with me, expe
rienced the same treatment, and had it not been for his uncle, the
American consul, he might have starved, for the Bristol people ;
his uncle was the only one who purchased any of his pictures.
Since I have been in London, I have been endeavoring to regain
what I lost in Bristol, and I hope I have so far succeeded as to say,
I have not gone back in my art. In order to retrench my expenses,
I have taken a painting-room out of the house, at about half of the
expense of my former room ; though inconvenient in many respects,
yet my circumstances require it, and I willingly put up with it. As
for economy , do not be at any more pains in introducing that per
sonage to me. We have long been friends and necessary compan
ions. If you could look in on me and see me through a day, I
think you would not tell me in every letter to economize more. It
is impossible ; I cannot economize more. I live on as plain food,
and as little, as is for my health ; less and plainer would make me
ill, for I have given it a fair experiment. As for clothes, I have
been decent, and that is all. If I visited a great deal, this would
be a heavy expense ; but, the less I go out, the less need I care for
clothes, except for cleanliness. My only heavy expenses are colors,
canvas, frames, etc., and these are heavy."

On the back of the last page of the letter he adds, as a
postscript : " The seal of my letter is worth noticing. It is a
celebrated antique gem, set in Michael Angelo's ring, which he
always used as a seal. I have the seal — an impression from the
original."

In a note to Mrs. Morse, his friend Leslie says : " I am very
glad to see that Mr. Coleridge is writing again, and, of course,
talking also. I hope he is near Mr. Allston."

Mr. Morse speaks of Mr. Allston in one of his letters, after
mentioning an attack of illness : " I never felt so low-spirited as
when he was ill. I often thought, if he should be taken away at

MR. ALLSTON'S ADVICE.

this time, what an irreparable loss it would be, not only to me,
but to America, and to the world. Oh ! he is an angel on earth.
I cannot love him too much. Excuse my warmth ; I never can
speak of Mr. Allston but in raptures."

And Mr. Allston, writing to Mr. Morse, at Bristol, makes
the following suggestions :

" I write to thank you for the very agreeable intelligence con
tained in your letter to Leslie [the expected sale of one of Mr. A.'s
paintings]; but, in a particular manner to request, or rather to
advise, you not to take a share in the intended raffle. For this I
can offer two reasons : 1. That the price of a share is too much for
you to risk upon an uncertainty ; 2. That I much fear, should you
win, the world may suspect, on account of our connection, that I
was in some way interested in it. I think, upon the whole, you
had better not take one, but wait until you can paint a landscape
equal to it yourself; which I make no doubt you will ere long be
able to do, if you are industrious. I shall follow your advice in
not being too sanguine respecting its success. But hope is pleas
ant, and I shall therefore indulge it until I hear from you again. I
am quite satisfied that it should go at five hundred guineas, and, as
soon as it is sold, I shall, according to my promise, bespeak an ele
gant frame for it. I have at last the satisfaction to inform you that
my large picture is in the British Gallery, and, moreover, hung in
the place where Mr. West's was."

Mr. Morse, during the latter part of his residence in Lon
don, denied himself in great measure the pleasures of society,
which were pressed upon him. In the second year of his life
there, he had received the following note from Zachary Macau-
lay, which is copied here as an illustration of the mode of get
ting about in London sixty years ago :

"Mr. Macaulay presents his compliments to Mr. Morse, and
begs to express his regret at not having yet been so fortunate as to
meet him. Mr. Macaulay will be particularly happy, if it should
suit Mr. Morse to dine with him at his house at Clapham, on Sat
urday next at five o'clock. Mr. M.'s house is five doors beyond the
Plough, at the entrance of Clapham Common. A coach goes daily
to Clapham from the Ship at Charing Cross, at a quarter-past three,
and several leave Grace-Church Street, in the City, every day at

86 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

four. The distance from London Bridge to Mr. Macaulay's house
is about four miles."

"26 BIRCHIR LANE,./«we 23, 1812."

But Mr. Morse assures his parents that visiting costs too
much time. He writes to them :

"James Russell, Esq., has been extremely attentive to me. He
has a very fine family, consisting of four daughters, and, I think,
a son, who is absent in the East Indies. The daughters are very
beautiful, accomplished, and amiable, especially the youngest,
Lucy. I came very near being at my old game of falling in love ;
but I find that love and painting are quarrelsome companions, and
that the house of my heart was too small for both of them ; so I
have turned Mrs. Love out-of-doors. 'Time enough,' thought I
(with true old-bachelor complacency), 'time enough for you these
ten years to come.' Mr. Russell's portrait I have painted as a pres
ent to Miss Russell, and will send it to her as soon as I can get an
opportunity. It is an excellent likeness of him. I should be very
happy to send also the portraits of the rest of the family to her,
but, as I am obliged to support myself now, every thing must be
turned to account.

" You wish me to keep up my acquaintance with Mr. Burder,
Messrs. Macaulay, Taylor, and others. Mr. Burder has never shown
me the slightest attention. I never have seen him, to speak to him,
but once ; and then, when I delivered my letter of introduction to
him, he said he hoped he should have the pleasure of my com
pany .to dine soon, and he would let me know when it would be
convenient. I have not heard from him from that time to this.
There is no blame attached to him. He is a man full of business,
like papa, and I suppose it has slipped his memory, and it is perhaps
better for both of us, for I should only hinder him, and he me. It
is utterly impossible for me to keep up an acquaintance in England,
and I therefore do not attempt it. My studies absorb all my time,
and I wish no other employment or pastime. 'Tis not in London,
as in Boston, or one of our cities, where you have your friends in a
little circle round you. But a visit in London is a serious under
taking, probably a walk of two or three miles, if not five or six.
Mr. Taylor lives two miles from me, Mr. Burder six, Mr. Macaulay
seven, Mr. Thornton seven, Mr. Wilberforce five, Dr. Lettsom three ;
Mr. Allston two streets, Mr. West two streets. So you see by this
who are most likely to be my intimates, and what time I must

INVITATION FROM MR. WILBERFORCE. 87

spend just to step in and make a call ; and, what makes the matter
worse, I seem to live in the centre of a great circle, as it respects
them."

Mr. Wilberf orce speaks, in one of his letters to Dr. Morse, of
his deep interest in his son, and his desire that he would be
more at home in his house. And, among the autographs which
the son preserved to the end of his life, was a pleasant note from
Mr. Wilberforce, dated

"KENSINGTON GROYE, June 1, 1815.

" MY DEAR SIR : Till I heard, three or four days ago, from Mr.
Sanders the Black School-master, that you were in London, I had
conceived, from the contents of a letter I received some little time
ago from your father, that you were on the Continent, and not like
ly to be in England again till the middle or end of July. It is long
since I had the pleasure of seeing you, and I need not assure }7ou
that you are always an acceptable visitor ; but I did not return to
the neighborhood of London till Parliament reassembled, and dur
ing its sittings I am always so much occupied and engaged that I
am forced to give up almost all social intercourse. The consequence
is, that toward the end of the session, as just now, I have a large
arrear of social debts to pay to my friends, and the few days I
have at command are preengaged. But at breakfast, at about ten
or half-past ten, I should be happy to see you any day, and let me
beg you to come some fine morning, and say you are come to
breakfast. I have a parcel of newspapers and pamphlets to send
you. In haste, but with real regard, and taking, for your good
father's sake, a real interest in your welfare, I remain, my dear sir,

" Yours sincerely,

" W. WILBERFORCE.

"S. F. B. MORSE, Esq."

This friendly note is dated June "1, 1815. On the 18th day
of the same month the battle of Waterloo was fought, and on
the 6th day of the month following the allied armies entered
Paris. There was no electric Telegraph at that time to carry
news across channels, continents, and oceans ; but the future in
ventor of such an agent relates an interesting incident of the re
ception of these tidings in London. Mr. Morse says :

" It was at one of my visits, in the year 1815, that an incident
occurred which well illustrates the character of the great philan-

88 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

thropist. As I passed through Hyde Park on my way to Kensing
ton Grove, I observed that great crowds had gathered, and rumors
were rife that the allied armies had entered Paris, that Napoleon
was a prisoner, and that the war was virtually at an end ; and it
was momentarily expected that the park guns would announce the
good news to the people. On entering the drawing-room at Mr.
Wilberforce's, I found the company, consisting of Mr. Thornton,
Mr. Macaulay, Mr. Grant the father, and his two sons Robert and
Charles, and Robert Owen, of Lanark, in quite excited conversation
respecting the rumors that prevailed. Mr. Wilberforce expatiated
largely on the prospects of a universal peace in consequence of the
probable overthrow of Napoleon, whom naturally he considered the
great disturber of the nations. At every period, however, he ex
claimed, l It is too good to be true, it cannot be true.' He was al
together skeptical in regard to the rumors. The general subject,
however, was the absorbing topic at the dinner-table ; after dinner
the company joined the ladies in the drawing-room. I sat near a
window which looked out in the direction of the distant park.
Presently a flash and a distant dull report of a gun attracted my
attention, but was unnoticed by the rest of the company. Pres
ently another flash and report assured me that the park guns were
firing, and at once I called Mr. Wilberforce's attention to the fact.
Running to the window, he threw it up in time to see the next flash
and hear the next report. Clasping his hands in silence, with the
tears rolling down his cheeks, he stood for a few moments perfectly
absorbed in thought, and, before uttering a word, embraced his wife
and daughter, and shook hands with every one in the room. The
scene was one not to be forgotten."

A few days after this scene Mr. Morse left England for his
native land.

CHAPTER IV.
1815-1823.

RETURN TO AMEEICA— OPENS A STUDIO IX BOSTON — NO SUCCESS — INVENTS
IMPROVEMENT IN PUMP— TEAYELS IN VERMONT AND NEW HAMPSHIEE
AS POETEAIT-PAINTEE — MEETS HIS FUTUEE BEIDE — PUESUES HIS IN
VENTION — GOES TO CHAELESTON, SOUTH CAEOLINA — DE. FINLEY — SUC
CESS — ALLSTON'S ENCOUEAGEMENT — EETUENS NOETH — MAEEI AGE —

CHARLESTON AGAIN — THE PUMP— W. ALL8TON — MOE8E PAINTS THE POE-
TEAIT OF PRESIDENT MONEOE — THIED WINTER IN CHAELESTON — NEW
HA YEN — PAINTING "HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES" — HISTORY OF THE
PICTURE.

A FTER waiting fourteen days in Liverpool for a fair wind,
J-Tj- Mr. Morse set sail August 21, 1815, in the ship Ceres, Cap
tain Webber, for Boston. Two hundred vessels sailed in company.
" We gradually lost sight of our companions," he writes, " as
night approached, and at sunset they were dispersed all over the
horizon." The passage was long and boisterous. His sea-diary
is but a record of head-winds, rain, gales, tempests, sea-sickness,
and every thing disagreeable. They sighted the signal of a ship
in distress. The captain refused to go to the rescue, on the
ground that he had enough to do to look out for his own. The
passengers entreated him to have mercy, but he was obstinate.
Mr. Morse then assured him that, as soon as they landed in Bos
ton, he would expose his inhumanity by stating the facts in the
public journals. This brought him to, and he bore down for
the dismasted ship whose signal -guns and signs of distress called
two other ships to its aid.

90 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

One gale followed another. " Obliged," he says, " to keep
our berths, cabin dark, dead lights on. Oh, who would go to
sea who can stay at home." A few days after this despairing
groan, the sea is calm : "A serene and delightful night ; the full
moon rose in a cloudless sky. The sea is like a mirror, with not
a ripple on its surface, and the ship is as still as if we were at
anchor in the harbor : nothing is in sight but sky and water,
and the color of the water is so like the sky that we seem to be
suspended in the midst of space."

He arrived in Boston on the 18th day of October, after a
passage of fifty-eight days, and an absence from his country of
more than four years. His profession he had pursued with ar
dor and great success ; his ambition was stimulated, and he was
buoyant with hope ; and the impelling power of necessity was
upon him, for his profession was to be his only source of sup
port.

The year 1816 was spent in Boston and in Charlestown,
where he lodged at his father's house. His father had engaged
a studio for him in the city. His great picture was opened for
exhibition. The fame of the young artist had preceded him,
and hundreds of people went to see a picture by the favorite
pupil of Allston and West. He was constantly invited to the
entertainments of the cultivated and wealthy families of the city
of Boston. The " Judgment of Jupiter " was admired by the
critics and the multitude. He set up his easel with the confi
dent expectation that his fame and his work would bring him
orders and money. But an entire year dragged itself along?
without an offer for his picture, or an order for an historical
work. His mind was too active and earnest for such a life as
this. In the evenings at home he meditated an invention by
which a great improvement would be made in the common
pump and, one that could be adapted to the forcing-pump in the
fire-engine. His brother, Sidney E. Morse, two years younger
than he, entered into the project with him, and they completed
the invention and secured a patent. In the autumn the follow
ing notice was published :

" NEW INVEISTIOXS. — A new-constructed patent pump is in op
eration on Gray's Wharf, in Charlestown, where any who feel de-

LETTER FROM LESLIE. 91

sirous of seeing it may see it on any day during ONE WEEK from this
date, from half ebb to half flood-tide. Four men can work it with
ease and deliver three hundred and sixty gallons in one minute.
The pump-bore is five inches in diameter ; a wooden ball four and
three-fourth inches, entered at the bottom of the log, will pass freely
through and be delivered at the nose."

His friends in London did not forget him. Leslie writes :

"LONDON, November 17, 1815.

" MY DEAR MOESE : I have just received your very welcome
letter announcing your arrival. Our sorrow for the length and un
pleasantness of your voyage is entirely swallowed up in joy for
your safety, about which we were extremely anxious, from accounts
we have had of the hurricanes off Boston.

" We continue pretty much as when you left us, excepting that
our good old landlady, Mrs. Bridgen, has been very dangerously ill
with a violent attack of the rheumatic gout. She is now, thank
Heaven, nearly recovered, and I am sure your letter did her more
good than any thing the doctor has given her for some time.
When she was first taken ill, she refused to have a physician. I
used every argument in my power to persuade her to it, but she
would not consent, saying it would go off of itself. Knowing too
well the fatal effects of this dread of the doctor, I went without
her knowledge to an eminent one (Dr. Blackburn), and sent him to
her, and I am by no means sure that he did not save her life.
During her illness I had opportunities of discovering more of the
real character of Mr. Bridgen than I had ever known before. He
showed a most affectionate disposition, and I am sure it was merely
his testy manner that had before obscured it. He was unceasingly
assiduous in his attentions to her, and, though in bad health himself,
sat up with her, and did every thing in his power to alleviate her
sufferings in the kindest manner possible. He was describing to
me one night how indefatigable he had formerly been in his occu
pation : 'For ' (said he with tears in his eyes), ' I loved my missus,
sir, and thought I could never do enough for her.' He spoke in
the highest terms of her excellent temper, at the same time re
proaching himself for having tormented her so much by his bad
one, of which he seemed perfectly sensible.

" Soon after you left London, Mr. McMurtrie arrived from Phila
delphia. He is one of our few men of taste. He was highly de
lighted with Allston's pictures, and persuaded him to send out his

92 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

' Dead Man ' to Philadelphia for exhibition, which I suppose is there
by this time. McMurtrie introduced us to the great General Scott,
and his aide-de-camp Major Mercer, who were fellow-passengers
with him. They are both most gentlemanly men. Scott is six feet
four inches high, well made, and has a fine face. His eyes are re
markably expressive. I regretted exceedingly you were not here ;
you would have been so delighted with them. I painted a portrait
of Mercer, and am making a copy of Mr. West's pictures (the Cupid
with a lion, sea-horse, etc.) for the general, for which I am to have
sixty guineas. They are now in France, and when they return I
am to have the honor of painting a portrait of the general. Mr.
Ogden, who commanded a regiment of volunteers in the battle of
New Orleans, has lately been here. He brought a letter of intro
duction to me from Jarvis, the painter, and a portrait of Jackson,
painted in the true Italian touch, by the immortal Wheeler, which
he is having engraved here. General Jackson is by no means hand
some, having very much the physiognomy of a dried shad, with
the complexion of a pair of leather breeches ; nevertheless, he was
the man that did John's business for him. Ogden told me that the
battle was gained principally by the volunteers, who were com
posed of the wealthiest citizens of New Orleans.

" I have very little information to give you in the arts, except
ing that Holland was not elected an associate, and that Jackson
and Mulready were. Haydon gets on slowly with his picture.
Collins has improved wonderfully, and made some of the most ex
quisite sketches from Nature I have ever seen. Kukup is likely to
get the prize, I believe; he has but one antagonist (Williehass).
Allston is more than half through his ' Peter,' and a glorious pict
ure it will be. I am painting a half-length of a beautiful actress
(Mrs. Mardyn) for exhibition. She has just appeared at Drury
Lane in Mrs. Jordan's characters. Her beauty, however, is her
greatest attraction. Collard, Lonsdale, Haydon, Hewling, desire
their regards to you.

" Your sincere friend,

" LESLIE."

The state of the arts in America at this juncture is shown in
a letter from the Rev. Samuel F. Jarvis to S. F. B. Morse :

"NEW YORK, January 29, 1816.

" You are now, I suppose, unremittingly engaged in the pursuits
of your profession. It will gratify me much to hear what you are

LETTER BY REV. S. J. JARVIS. 93

doing. Portrait-painting alone is profitable in this country — our
rich men not having yet obtained that relish for the fine arts which
would lead them to admire a painting for its own sake, or to pa
tronize genius from the noble principles of love for excellence, and
love for country. The Bostonians probably will patronize you,
however, because you are their fellow - citizen, and, though the
thought of being indebted to that motive cannot be a very pleasing
one to you, yet it may in time lead to juster views. You know, I
presume, that Colonel Trumbull has seated himself down in this
city, and his collection you are probably well acquainted with. Our
Academy of Arts is at present in rather a languishing state ; but I
trust we shall soon be able to make it worth attention. The cor
poration of this city have given, or are about giving, a large lot
near the new City Hall in Broadway, where it is proposed to erect
a building to correspond with that noble edifice (not to vie with it,
of course, but as a sort of appendage), which is to be devoted to
our literary, scientific, and elegant institutions. We are to have in
it the City Library, Scudder's Museum, the Academy of Fine Arts,
a chemical laboratory, and apartments for the several learned soci
eties — the New York Historical Society, the New York Literary
and Philosophical Society, etc. I hope that we shall institute an
Academy of Painting ; and it would give me great pleasure to see
you one of the professors of it. Why will you not let us have the
pleasure of seeing you, when we can talk over these matters at our
leisure ? I am reserving the painting of my phiz for your pencil ;
and as they tell me I look best in the winter, because fattest, you
see it is of great importance that I see you at this season. Have
you attended at all to architecture ? That is with me a favorite
science, though I know but little about it. I hope some time or
other to see a Gothic church erected here, and I must consult your
taste concerning the plans. There has been a Gothic church erect
ed at New Haven since you were there, and it is my intention to
put up a monument in it to the memory of my father, the decora
tions of which I wish to have correspondent with the style of the
building. As you have probably noticed the principal monuments
in England, it may be in your power to furnish me with a design."

His thoughts were much with those friends he had left.
Allston lie loved and revered. He pours out his heart to him
in letters, some of which have been found among Mr. Allston's
papers. The passage in the following letter, where the pupil

94 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

implores his master's forgiveness for possible errors, beautifully
illustrates the feeling that subsisted between them.

"BOSTON, April 10, 1816.

" MY DEAR Sm : I have but one moment to write you by a ves
sel which sails to-morrow morning : I wrote Leslie by New Packet
some months since, and am hourly expecting an answer. I congratu
late you, my dear sir, on the sale of your picture of the ' Dead
Man? I suppose you will have received notice before this reaches
you, that the Philadelphia Academy of Arts have purchased it for
the sum of thirty-five hundred dollars. Bravo for our country ! I
am sincerely rejoiced for you, and for the disposition which it shows
of future encouragement. I really think the time is not far distant
when we shall all be able to settle in our native land with profit as
well as pleasure. ... I long to spend my evenings again with you
and Leslie ; I shall certainly visit Italy (should I live and no unfore
seen event take place) in the course of a year or eighteen months.
Could there not be some arrangement made to meet you and Leslie
there ? You will now be in funds, and perhaps would not dislike to
visit again the scenes of your early studies. Do write me, if it is
but a line, and say if it cannot be so arranged. . . . My conscience
accuses me, and hardly too, of many instances of pettishness and ill-
humor toward you, which make me almost hate myself, that I could
offend a temper like yours ; I need not ask you to forgive it, I
know you cannot harbor anger a minute, and perhaps have forgot
ten the instances ; but I cannot forget them. If you had failings
of the same kind, and I could recollect any instances where you had
spoken pettishly or ill-natured to me, our accounts would then have
been balanced, they would have called for mutual forgetfulness and
forgiveness ; but when on reflection I find nothing of the kind to
charge you with, my conscience severely upbraids me with ingrati
tude to you, to whom (under Heaven) I owe all the little knowl
edge of my art which I possess ; but I hope still I shall prove
grateful to you ; at any rate, I feel my errors and must mend
them.

" I was at a large party at William Walter Channing's a few
evenings since ; I there saw your * Catherine and Petruchio? It
reminded me of old times.

" I have just completed a Kitcat landscape, a sea-piece on a
common half-length upright, a ship in distress on the top of a small
piece of a single wave which occupies the whole foreground ; she

MR. ALLSTON'S "DEAD MAX." 95

comes out against a bright bank of clouds, such as you like, is scud
ding directly toward you under a close-reefed foresail. I bought a
famous model of a seventy-four a week or two since, seven feet long
and five feet high, completely rigged and perfect in every part ; all
the blocks traverse, so thut I can brace or square the yards at
pleasure, or place that in what state of dishabille I please. I gave
twenty dollars for it, and it was sold a few weeks before for one
hundred. I shall keep it to paint from always. Please write me
soon and tell me all about yourself and Leslie. Remember me most
particularly to Leslie, Collard, Lonsdale, Collins, Haydon, Mr. and
Mrs. Hewlings, Cregan, Martin, Lane (if in London), and the
Bridges.

" Yours most sincerely,

"SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE."

To this letter Mr. Allston replied in these words :

" MY DEAK Sm : I will not apologize for having so long delayed
answering your kind letter, being, as you well know, privileged
by my friends to be a lazy correspondent. I was sorry to find
that you should have suffered the recollection of any hasty expres
sions you might have uttered to give you uneasiness. Be assured
that they never were remembered by me a moment after ; nor did
they ever in the slightest degree diminish my regard or weaken my
confidence in the sincerity of your friendship or the goodness of
your heart. Besides, the consciousness of warmth in my own tem
per would have made me inexcusable had I suffered myself to dwell
on an inadvertent word from another. I therefore beg you will no
longer suffer any such unpleasant reflections to disturb your mind ;
but that you will rest assured of my unaltered and sincere esteem.

" Your letter, and one I had about the same time from my sis
ter Mary, brought the first intelligence of the sale of my picture,
it being near three weeks later when I received the account from
Philadelphia. When you recollect that I considered the 'Dead
Man ' (from the untoward fate he had hitherto experienced) almost
literally as a caput mortuum, you may easily believe that I was most
agreeably surprised to hear of the sale. But, pleased as I was, on
account of the very seasonable pecuniary supply it would soon
afford me, I must say that I was still more gratified at the encour
agement it seemed to hold ou.t for my return to America. — not
that I expect as ready a sale for every large picture I might paint ;
but from the growing interest in the arts, which the present pur-

96 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

chase appears to indicate among our countrymen, I think I may
reasonably reckon on a quantum sufficit of taste in them to calcu
late on at least a decent support from future exhibitions. The c St.
Peter' has been long since finished, exhibited, and sent home to Sir
G. I worked on it for three weeks after it came out of the Gallery ;
repainted the angel's head, and made other alterations. Sir G. and
Lady Beaumont expressed themselves highly pleased with it. The
Gil Bias was bought by Lieutenant Drayton, of South Carolina.
'Tis now, I believe, at Philadelphia. In Somerset House I exhib
ited a landscape. You saw the dead color of it last summer. I
inclose a short notice of it from the Examiner. I don't remember
whether Leslie had begun his ' Death of Rutland ' before you left
London. He has made a fine picture of it. The head of Rutland is
very beautiful, and yet full of expression. Indeed, the whole pict
ure is firmly and well painted. By-the-by, I have given up the
subject of ' Christ Healing the SicJcJ and have made a sketch of an
other much finer, which I think by all odds my best composition ;
it is both picturesque and highly impassioned. When I have begun
it in large (which will be as soon as I shall have found a good paint
ing-room) I will tell you what it is, and more about it. You find I
have not been sparing about my own concerns ; so, if you don't tell
me more about yourself and your pursuits in your next than you
have done in your first letter, I shall become modest, and write
more in future about matters and things in general. . . .

" Very truly yours,

"W. ALLSTON."

Two lively letters from Leslie, in London, cheered him dur
ing this year of discouragement and fear :

"LONDON, January 30, 1816.

"DEAR MORSE : I have as yet received but one letter from you,
which was written the day after your arrival. I suppose by this time
you have been duly and truly welcomed by all your friends ; have had
each of your arms shaken into a sort of derm-dislocation, and have had
your health drunk till you are an insured man, wind and limb, these
thousand years at least, to say nothing of the turkeys, geese, and
all other good things, that have been eaten in honor of your arrival.
I say, now that all these ceremonies are settled and passed, I hope
and expect that you will allow the recollection of your friends on
this side of the water to occupy some of your thoughts. Be
assured that those friends think of you very often, and that your

LESLIE'S LETTER. 97

image is deeply engraven on their hearts, associated with many
past scenes of enjoyment. Since you left us we have been going
on much in the old way, c living from hand to mouth ' (as it is vul
garly expressed). Mr. Allston has finished his * Peter,' of which he
has made a glorious picture, and which will be seen by the public
at the British Gallery in a few days. There is but one opinion of
it among his friends. But what seems to please him most is the
very high opinion Haydoii has of it. Punishment seems at last
likely to overtake the members of the British Institution for their
various misdemeanors. They narrowly escaped this year having no
exhibition at all, by reason of no pictures being sent. Allston in
tended his for Spring Gardens ; but a very tempting offer being
made to him by Young, that of allowing him to work on it for
three weeks at the Gallery, induced him to send it there. Notwith
standing, however, that they had succeeded in getting his great pict
ure, which fills the end of one of their great rooms, their ranks were
so scanty that they were obliged to apply to Mr. West for assist
ance, who undertook to fill a whole side of a room with old works
of his own. I understood they also applied to Hayter, who was
finishing a large picture of three children (portraits), and have
taken that in under the appellation of ' The Garland.' The rest of
the collection consists principally of the paltry sketches for which
they were to give premiums, and the fragments and refuse of Som
erset House. It is generally anticipated that this same British In
stitution will die a natural death one of these days.

" I am going on with my ; Clifford and Rutta,9 and a copy from
Mrs. West's picture of c Cupid commanding the Elements,' for Gen
eral Scott, and now and then making the pot boil with a portrait
or so. I am admitted to the life at the Academy, where I draw
very regularly. They have instituted a painting school at the
Academy, which they have begun to supply with pictures from the
Dulwich collection, which formerly belonged to Sir Francis Bour
geois. The academicians are visitors by turns the same as in the
life, and the school is in the inner room. I made a few sketches
this year at the Gallery, and I shall attend the school at the Acad
emy when Turner is visitor, as I am persuaded I can learn more
from him than any one of the R. A.'s. I believe there is no doubt
but that government will buy the Elgin Marbles, and it is said they
will be removed to the British Museum next summer. The Acad
emy are going to have a new set of casts in the spring, and Eng
land will present far more advantages to the students in arts, as

7

98 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

indeed it does already, than any other part of the world. I hope
you will be able to realize your plan of returning in a year.

" There was no gold medal given the last year at Somerset
House : Kukup and Williehass were the only candidates. Mr.
West told me that he thought, had you been allowed to try, your
picture would have stood a better chance than either of them. Mr.
Allston has sold his ' Gil Bias ' (which is at the Gallery) to Colonel
Drayton of the U. S. Army. I am very glad to see our heroes take
an interest in the arts."

"LONDON, September 6, 1816.

"DEAR MOUSE: I have just received your letter by Mr. Pey-
son. I am sorry to hear that the arts are advancing so slowly in
America ; but as to encouragment there is very little anywhere, I ap
prehend, just at present. There is a general stagnation of business
in England, and the artists are as much affected by it as any other
class of men. I hope, however, your prospects may not be really so
dull in America as you imagine. As you were before a little too
sanguine of success, it is possible you may now be more depressed
than there is really cause to be. I am glad to hear that you are
going on a tour into Vermont and New Hampshire ; it will be a
pleasant relaxation to you, and I hope you will return well loaded
with sketches. I sincerely hope that you will be able to revisit
Europe; but, *by all means, come to London, instead of Rome. I
am convinced there are greater advantages here than anywhere.
You will find a great deal that will be new to you, and the Elgin
Marbles will be placed in a building erected for them at the Muse
um,, where it is to be hoped we shall be able to study them in good
lights. I never thought of preserving catalogues of the exhibition
to send you, as I did not suppose the mere names of pictures
would give you any pleasure. And as to critiques, they (you
know) are so bad that it is impossible to form any idea of the pict
ures they describe. The Somerset House show was not so good
as usual. Turner has two small pictures, by no means his best.
Hilton's great picture of the * Raising of Lazarus' disappointed
every one. Lawrence had some fine portraits, among which was
one of Canova, the Italian sculptor, a very intelligent and agree
able head.

"Your humble servant exhibited a beautiful landscape of a sun
rise, which, I believe, he had outlined before you went away. Mr.
A. is at present painting a picture of ' Rebecca at the Well,' for

MODEL DIRECTORS. 99

Mr. Van Schaick. He has lately painted a head of Dante's Beatrice,
which is extremely beautiful, and has a chastity and refinement of
expression equal to Raphael. I am at present painting portraits
of Mr. and Mrs. Adams, and studying at the Gallery. The exhi
bition of old masters was the finest I have seen by far. They had
two of the cartoons, the ' Miraculous Draught of Fishes,' and the
1 Paul preaching at Athens.' The ' Bacchus and Ariadne,' by Ti
tian, and the most beautiful little Paul Veronese (of the ' Adoration
of the Shepherds ') I ever saw, which I am now making a finished
copy of. There were two large Paulos, ' Wisdom and Strength,'
and ' The Painter between Virtue and Vice,' of which you may
have seen prints. There was also a glorious portrait of Lorenzo de
Medicis, by Sab. del Piombo, the most intellectual and grand head
I ever saw for a portrait; and there was a beautiful little picture,
by Raphael, of St. Catherine. The Catalogue JRaisonne appeared
according to promise, but is not near so good as the one last year.
^rt the conclusion the author says that Mr. Payne Knight told the
directors it was the custom of the Greek nobility to strip and ex
hibit themselves naked to the artists in various attitudes, that they
might have an opportunity of studying fine form. Accordingly,
those public-spirited men, the directors, have determined to adopt
the plan, and are all practising like mad to prepare themselves for
the ensuing exhibition, when they are to be placed on pedestals.
It is supposed that Sir G. Beaumont, Mr. Long, Mr. Knight, etc.,
will occupy the principal lights. The Marquis of Stafford, unfor
tunately, could not recollect the attitude of any one antique figure,
but was found practising, having the head of the dying gladiator,
the body of the Hercules, one leg of the Apollo, and the other of
the dancing Faun, turned the wrong way. Lord Mulgrave, having
a small head, thought of representing the Torso, but he did not
know what to do with his legs, and was afraid that as Master of
the Ordnance he could not dispense with his arms. In another
part of the catalogue there is a quotation from one of Leigh Hunt's
poems, where one angel says to another —

' If your cloud holds two,
I'll get up and ride with you.' "

Disappointed in his expectations of encouragement in his
torical painting, Mr. Morse resolved to go into the country, and
earn his bread by painting the portraits of the people. In the
rural districts of New England he would find ready introduc-

100 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

tion to the most respectable families, as his father's name was a
household word in every town. With letters to the pastors and
others, he took his way into the world to seek his fortune ; fame
did not tempt him now. During the autumn of 1816, and the
winter of 1816-'1Y, he visited several towns in New Hampshire
and Yermont. He painted portraits in . Walpole, Hanover,
Windsor, Portsmouth, and Concord, meeting with moderate
success, and receiving the modest sum of fifteen dollars for each
portrait. At Concord, New Hampshire, the sun shone brightly
upon him. He writes from this place to his parents : " I am
still here (August 16th), and am passing my time very agreea
bly. I have painted five portraits at fifteen dollars each, and
have two more engaged, and many more talked of. I think I
shall get along well. I believe I could make an independent
fortune in a few years if I devoted myself exclusively to por
traits, so great is the desire for good portraits in the different
country towns."

' He doubtless was candid when he wrote that he was " passing
his time in Concord very agreeably." In his history of Concord,
Dr. Bouton says : " At a party given by Mr. Sparhawk, in 1818,
among the invited guests was Samuel F. B. Morse, now distin
guished as the inventor of the electric Telegraph, who was that
evening introduced to Miss Lucretia P. Walker, daughter of
Charles Walker, who was accounted the most beautiful and ac
complished young lady of the town, whom Mr. Morse subse
quently married."

She was a young lady of great personal loveliness and rare
good sense. The eye of the artist was attracted by her beauty,
her sweetness of temper, and high intellectual culture, which
fitted her to be his companion. Her sound judgment and pru
dence made her a counselor and friend. All the letters that
she wrote to him, before and after their marriage, he carefully
preserved, and they are witnesses to her intelligence, education,
tenderness of feeling, and admirable fitness to be the wife of
such a man as Mr. Morse.

Before an engagement of marriage was made, their corre
spondence was so frequent and voluminous that the artist must
have been rapid with pen and brush to have been able to satisfy
the demands of his patrons and his love. Early in the year

DR. MORSE'S INVITATION

101

181Y the engagement was concluded. He imparted a knowledge
of the fact at once to his parents, having received the cordial
approbation of the parents of Miss Walker. To them Rev'. Dr.
Morse addressed a letter inviting their daughter to visit Charles-
town, that he and Mrs. Morse might f orm the acquaintance of
one who was to stand to them in this new and near relation.
The letter was in these stately but affectionate terms :

JKev. Dr. Morse to Mr. and Mrs. Walker.

" CHARLESTOWN, January 13, 1817.

" DEAR SIR AND MADAM : The mutual attachment subsisting be
tween our eldest son and your daughter, and the matrimonial en
gagement which in consequence has been entered into by them,
with the consent of their parents, respectively, render it proper and
desirable, in prospect of such a connection in our families, that an
acquaintance should be formed between us. As this cannot now
be done personally, with convenience, I take the liberty to com
mence it by letter. From this acquaintance, and future intercourse,
Mrs. Morse and myself anticipate much pleasure and satisfaction.
We are very anxious to become personally acquainted with your
daughter, who is much endeared to us by the amiable dispositions
and virtues which she is reported to possess, as well as from the
consideration that she shares so largely in the affections of a be
loved son. And I accordingly write this for the purpose of re
questing your permission that your daughter should make us a visit
with our son, of such length as may suit her convenience.

" We hope you will not deny us this request, a compliance with
which will afford us much gratification. If it can be made con
venient, we should be obliged particularly if they could be here in
the course of the next week. It will, be assured, give us much
pleasure to see you, or any of your family, at our house, whenever
it may be convenient to you, or to them.

" Mrs. Morse unites in kind regards to you both, with, dear sir,
and madam, your affectionate and obedient servant,

"JED. MORSE."

The visit was made, to the delight of all parties. The young
lady returned to her parents in Concord, and the artist contin
ued his travels and painting. The congratulations of friends
poured in upon him when his engagement became known.
Leslie, the friend of his youth, in London; his companion in

OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

study and in many a gay and festive hour — the humorist alike
with pen and pencil, and in conversation more than with either
—wrote to him when he heard of it :

" So, you are over head and ears in love ? Happy fellow ! You
have described "her in such delicious terms that your pen should
have flowed with honey instead of ink. Excuse my saying one
serious word to you, my dear Morse, on this serious subject, though
I have little doubt your own excellent judgment has already dic
tated it to you. Take care to ascertain, before the knot is tied,
whether she has a deep sense of true religion. Do not, on any
account, marry unless you are satisfied that she has, and be not
contented with a mere outward profession ; she must delight in it.
Her religion must be practical, or she will not make the kind of
wife I should wish a friend to have. You and I have seen how very
greatly true Christianity conduces to domestic comfort in the in
stance of Mr. and Mrs. Allston."

Such counsel from such a rare genius as Leslie reveals the
inner life in a light at once unexpected and beautiful. Leslie
proceeds in the next paragraph to describe the paintings in the
annual exhibition then open in the British Gallery, among them
some just finished, which are now famous, Wilkie's " Sheep-
shearing" and others; and, after cheering his friend with words
of hope, he adds : " Believe that you are destined to do some
thing great, and you will do it. I write this with the hope of
rousing your spirits. You will be pleased to hear that Collins,
who was a Deist, has become a sincere Christian. I find there
are more artists religious than I was aware of ; Wilkie and
Haydon are, and so are Ward, and Jackson, and Linnell.
Willes you knew was a Christian, and Starke and Severn are
both Christians, and very amiable young men."

As Morse pursued his wandering life among the cities
and rural towns of Vermont and ]STew Hampshire, the letters
to and from him keep us acquainted with his progress, and
with the peculiar bent of his mind, even in the midst of his
labors, as a painter of portraits. We would not look among
letters of love to find notices of useful inventions in the arts ;
yet, in the midst of these effusions of the heart, put away
more than half a century ago, we discover the young lover,
while making declarations of his affection, mingling his hopes

THE PATENT PUMP. 103

and fears with calculations about the prospective profits of his
" flexible piston-pump." He writes to Miss Walker, in June,
1817 : " I am preparing for a journey to Washington, to take
out our PATENTS FOR THREE MACHINES, which, in the opinion of
judicious, philosophical, and practical men, will be of great value.
I would not be too sanguine. It is best to be always prepared
for disappointment." Finding that the business at Washington
could be attended to by an agent, he did not go, and in the
month of July writes to Miss Walker :

" We are in daily expectation of hearing of the arrival of our
models of machinery at Washington, and of receiving our letters-
patent. We have just tried our fire-engine on a large scale, and it
succeeds to our utmost expectation. We have shown it in opera
tion to several friends, who have given it their entire approbation,
and think that it will not only be profitable to us, but beneficial to
"the community. From its cheapness, it will be within the reach of
every village. But good-by, dearest; I hope to talk over all these
things shortly with you."

His brother, Sidney E., was at work diligently upon improve
ments in the new engine, their joint production, and, in a letter
to Finley, the brother writes, closing with a mock-heroic name
which he had invented :

" Since you left us I have been employed in newly modifying and
improving the pump-machine. I have got it now exactly to my
mind. The valves will be on a new plan, far superior to any thing
ever before thought of. The bag-piston, I find, is no new thing.
The 'Cyclopaedia' states that one Benjamin Martin, an English
man, invented the same thing more than fifty years ago. His
pump, they say, worked admirably, but was never introduced into
common use, because the leathers, when dry, were continually
cracking. I have invented a remedy for all difficulties, and have
got a pump in every respect to my liking. Particulars when you
return. I think of calling it 'Morse's Patent Metallic Double-
Headed OCEAN - DRINKER and DELUGE - SPOUTER VALVE Pump-
Boxes: "

And Finley himself writes to his father, from Concord, in
August, 1817 :

" When in Andover, I conversed with Mr. Farrar and others on

104 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOKSE.

the subject of our engines. Mr. F. was highly delighted, and said
he should certainly wait to know the result of our experiment, and
would take ours, in preference to any others, for their college en
gine, and, instead of one, would probably want two. He said that
the town, also, had long had an idea of procuring an engine ; but,
on account of the expense, had not yet obtained one. He said he
believed they had subscribed about three hundred dollars, but it
was not sufficient, and they had given up the idea at present ; but
he thought they would have one of ours, without doubt.

" In Concord, also, all that I have conversed with seem highly
pleased. Mr. Sparhawk, the Secretary of State (who is very much
my friend), carried me to see the Concord engine, which is a mis
erable affair, and which cost four hundred and fifty dollars. He
said it was always out of order, and they did not like it. He also
said if ours succeeded, and cost only half or even two-thirds of the
price, they would have two or three in Concord.

"I wish much to know how Dearborn proceeds with the engine-
and bellows. I think the prospect brightens with respect to our
inventions, if our smallest can be made so as to be afforded at one
hundred and fifty dollars, and so that our patent-fee should be on it
fifty dollars. I think we should make something handsome."

The New Hampshire Patriot, of April 14, 1818, lias this
notice :

"An additional fire-engine has been purchased by the inhab
itants of this town. It is a new invention of Mr. Morse, the cele
brated painter, and is procured for about half the usual expense —
say one hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars. It requires
much less manual labor, and throws the water to as great a distance
and in as large quantities. As yet we have seen only the opera
tion of Mr. Morse's miniature model. Should his invention succeed
equal to expectation and appearance, every village of any consid
erable extent will be a gainer to purchase one or more of these
engines."

To Miss Walker he writes from Ms father's house in Charles-
town :

"November 20, 1817.

" Our inventions are in a prosperous way ; it takes a deal of
time and patience to attend to them, but I hope they will be a
handsome property to us ere long. All is in God's hands ; in his

A MYSTERIOUS LOCK. 105

own time and his own way, all things shall work for good to us if
we love Him."

And in the same letter he mentions sending a curious gift to
a young lady, and such a present as could have come only from
a young man of an ingenious turn of mind. It illustrates the
mechanical tendencies of his intellect at this period of his life.
He writes :

" I send by Mr. Ambrose with the book the lock which I once
mentioned to you ; it may amuse you. I think it will puzzle the
ingenuity of Mr. J. to find it out. I will tell you how it opens by
the annexed figure : the word that opens it must be spelt in a line
between the two marks on the end-pieces, and when spelt the right-
hand end pulls out about a quarter of an inch, and the ketch can be
lifted up. You must not tell Mr. J. the key-word ; it is the name
of some one you know. I must leave it for your ingenuity to find
out whose it is."

And, again, a week later :

"Our inventions are slowly progressing. Surely an inventor
earns his money hard. It appears to me I would not go through
the vexations, and delays, and disappointments, I have gone through,
for double what I expect to obtain from them. They, however,
promise very well, and I hope to realize something handsome from
them. Our engine has been proved. Tell Mr. Sparhawk (with my
best respects to him and Mrs. Sparhawk) that we can order one
made for Concord, if they please, for one hundred and fifty dollars,
which shall throw three barrels eighty feet in five seconds, by
the power of eight men. I wish the Concord people would give us
an order for such a one, which shall be warranted, and thus en
courage the new invention. An advertisement is preparing for
the papers, which will be ready in a day or two."

Little did the perplexed and anxious artist, then bewailing
the vexatious delays and disappointments of the inventor, im
agine that, within twenty short years from that time, his bride
to whom he was then writing would be in her grave, their chil
dren homeless, he living in a solitary garret, carrying in the dark
ness to his comfortless chamber the simple food which he pre
pared with his own hands, while toiling to produce an invention
that was to electrify the world ! And in another letter, after

106 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

filling three pages with details of his inventions, he says : " But
good-by, Lncrece ; I am bothering you with engines and machi
nations, and I am sure they can't be pleasant to you ; so I will
stop."

The Allstons, of South Carolina, were frequently at the
North, and among the friends of their relative, Washington
Allston, Mr. Morse became acquainted with Hon. John A. All-
ston of Charleston, who assured him that a far more hopeful
field for his professional labors would be found in the South
than in the rural towns of New England. Rev. Dr. Morse
had written to his son, while in Walpole, New Hampshire,
saying :

" Mr. Legare, cousin to the Legares you know, a young man, of
genius and taste, says he prefers your prize picture to Mr. Allston's
great picture. He returns to Carolina next month, and speaks fa
vorably of your spending the winter there, and will do what he can
to prepare the way for you, should you go. Mr. Gallaudet was
here yesterday with a young Frenchman [Le Clerc] deaf and dumb,
a most interesting character. I showed him, and Dr. Coggswell,
of Hartford, with Mr. G., your paintings. They were highly grati
fied. The remarks of the Frenchman were very sensible and
shrewd. He understood the subjects perfectly, and appeared to
have fine taste."

Dr. Morse's large acquaintance in the South, where he had
spent several months at different times, and where relatives
of his were residing, encouraged his son Finley to contemplate
with favor the suggestions of Mr. Allston and Mr. Legare. Dr.
Finley, his uncle, was at this time a resident of Charleston, and
to him he wrote on the subject. The answer to his inquiries
was a cordial invitation to come on and find a home in his
uncle's house. While making preparations to go to the South,
he writes to his Lucretia : " I am over head and ears in business,
so much so that I am at a loss which thing to commence first.
Portraits and engines, and pumps and bellows, and various
models of various things, letters to write, and visits to pay, and
preparations for voyages by sea and land, all crowd upon me.
Tell Mr. Sparhawk that the engine is commenced, and will be
finished with all expedition. I hope the Pembroke people will
wait until they see ours before they order their engine."

KECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PUMP. 107

His arrangements being completed, lie went to ^s"ew Haven,
and there laid before the professors of the college, and others,
the inventions which he and his brother had patented. From
New York he writes to his parents :

"CiTY HOTEL, NEW YORK, January 10, 1818.

" MY DEAR PARENTS : I arrived here safely last evening, from
New Haven. Commodore Perry was a fellow-passenger. I was
much pleased with him. I left the machine business in a prosper
ous way in New Haven. I showed the models to President Day,
Professor Silliman, Mr. Whitney, Mr. Porter, and others ; from Mr.
Day and Mr. Whitney I obtained recommendations which I will
transcribe. Mr. Silliman was so much pleased that he requested
me to let him take the model of the engine to show it to the class,
and wishes me to make a set of drawings, with an abstract of the
specifications, for the first number of a periodical publication, de
voted to the arts and sciences, he is about to commence, to be out
in May next ; he to be at the expense of engravings. The models
I left with Mr. Porter, who is our agent at New Haven; with him
I made the following agreement, viz. :

" * I authorize John E. Porter, Esq., of New Haven, to contract with
any mechanic that he may think proper, to construct and sell at his own
expense any number of Morse's patent fire-engines, he paying or securing
to be paid, to the satisfaction of said Porter the sum of thirty dollars
for each one he shall so construct and sell, which sum said Porter is au
thorized to receive and hold for our benefit, and for his compensation we
will allow -him twelve and a half per cent, on the sum so secured and paid
to us. " ' SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

•ltv j SIDNEY E. MORSE, and
r I SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" 'NEW HAVEN, January 8, 1818.'

" By this contract we make it for the interest of Mr. Porter to
exert himself in behalf of the machines, and we are secured twenty-
five dollars on each one. Mr. Day's recommendations run thus :

" 'Having seen an improved pump-piston, contrived by Mr. Morse for
the purpose of playing without friction, and an application of it to the
fire-engine and other instruments, I take the liberty of stating that it
appears to me to be calculated to answer a useful purpose ; as it unites
simplicity in the construction, with effectual security against friction.

'"JEREMIAH DAY.
'"YALE COLLEGE, January 8, 1818.'

108 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" Mr. Whitney's runs thus :

" ; Having examined the model of a fire-engine, invented by Mr. Morse,
with pistons of a new construction, I am of opinion that an engine may
be made on that principle (being more simple and much less expensive),
which would have a preference to those in common use.

"'ELI WHITNEY.
'"NEW HAVEN, January 8, 1818.'

" I am unfortunate in not finding, in New York, either George
Clinton or Mr. Moses Rogers. The former resides in Albany, the
latter is in England. I called on Mr. Van Schaick, and on Monday
we shall endeavor to find some one to arrange the business of the
inventions with."

With his mind quite as full of the pump as of painting, Mr.
Morse sailed from New York in a packet, and arrived in
Charleston, January 27, 1818. A cordial welcome greeted him
at Dr. Finley's. He wrote to his parents the next day, express
ing his resolution to put the pump aside, and devote himself
wholly to his chosen art. He says :

" I find myself in a new climate, the weather warm as our May.
I have been introduced to a number of friends. I think my pros
pects are favorable. I did nothing about the machine in New
York. The absence of Governor Clinton entirely deranged my
plans. Rev. Dr. Spring advised me to leave it until my return to
New York, after the subject had been noticed in Sillimatfs Jour
nal. He thought it would then be revived with better effect. The
street commissioner, Mr. Macomb, was very much pleased with
the model, and said it promised to be extensively useful. The
machine business (between ourselves) I am heartily sick of. It
yields much vexation, labor, and expense, and no profit. Yet I
will not abandon it. I will do as well as I can with it, but I will
make it subservient to my painting, as I am sure of a support, and
even independence, if I pursue it diligently, and I am sure I am
disposed to do it."

Bright as his prospects appeared when he entered under the
most favorable auspices the charmed circles* of society in the
hospitable city of Charleston, the weeks wore slowly away, and
no sitters presented themselves at the door of his solitary studio.
Weary with waiting, and drawn northward by a magnet more
powerful than that which he afterward employed, he resolved to

SUCCESS IN CHARLESTON. 109

return to his Lucretia, and portraits at fifteen dollars. These,
and a pump that would throw three barrels of water in a minute,
began to appear more likely to yield to the young people the
income needed to render it prudent to marry, than the generous
hospitalities of Charleston, with no orders for the artist's pencil.
He implored his uncle, Dr. Finley, to sit to him for his por
trait, that he might leave a memorial of his visit, and make
some return for the kindness he had received. Then he would
turn his back upon Charleston, and seek his native New Eng
land. This decision was evidently prompted by feeling rather
than judgment, though it must be admitted there was nothing
else for him to do. Dr. Finley consented to sit. The artist
summoned to the work before him all the energies and resources
of his youth and manhood. Never, in his anxious contests for
prizes in the Royal Academy, had he made a more heroic effort
than in this attempt to produce a perfect picture of his relative
and friend. The studies of the past were invoked to aid him,
and hopes of the future nerved him. If it were the last, as it
was the first, work in the South, and far from the home of his
childhood, it should be a memento of what the neglected and
despairing artist could do. It was done, and to this day it is
valued as one of the best productions of his master-hand. As
he advanced in its execution, and intelligent critics were in
vited by Dr. Finley to see the coming portrait, three applica
tions were filed by persons who now desired to be portrayed on
canvas. The clouds began to break away. The wonderful skill
of the artist became the talk of the town. In a few weeks his
list of patrons to be painted amounted to one hundred and
fifty. His price was sixty dollars a portrait ! His success was
assured. He toiled unceasingly, literally day and night, and
even then he could not meet the demand for his work. Draw
ings were made of many who would permit him to finish the
painting at greater leisure in the ensuing summer.

In the distance he saw, and not very far off, the vision of
wife and home. He would go North in the early summer, and
return in the autumn with his bride, and make a home in that
genial clime, among friends to whom he had become strongly
attached. Mr. John A. Allston, who had advised Mr. Morse to
come to Charleston, continued to give him encouragement and

110 LIFE OF SAMUEL B. F. MORSE.

material aid. "Writing to him, on learning that Mr. Morse
wished to paint a portrait of his daughter, Mr. Allston says :

"GEORGETOWN, March 29, 1818.

" SIR : I have lately received a letter from my brother Motte, in
which he tells me you have authorized him to communicate your
intention of shortly commencing the full-sized, Aa{/-portrait of my
daughter. Upon your application to my brother, and to Mrs. Col-
cock, at whose boarding-school my daughter is, she will attend to
you for that purpose.

" I am unwilling that a painter of your reputation should pass
me without gratifying myself completely, and therefore beg the
favor of you to answer the following question, with the least pos
sible delay: What is your price for a full-length portrait of my
daughter executed nearly in miniature, say from twelve to twenty-
four inches in length, with as superb a landscape as you are capa
ble of designing and painting ? It would be a convenient opportu
nity to make out this painting, while my daughter is attending you
for her full-sized, AaJ/'-portrait. I would be very glad to have a
painting of her in the way described. You need not take any
steps toward it until you write and receive my answer. I am, sir,
most respectfully, your obedient and humble servant,

"JOHN A. ALLSTON.
- " SAMUEL F. B. MORSE, J8sg."

And the patron's idea of the art will be gathered from a
subsequent letter written by Mr. Allston, on receiving Mr.
Morse's reply to his inquiries.

"GEORGETOWN, April 7, 1818.

" SIR : I have just received your favor, of the 30th ultimo, and
thank you very cordially for your goodness in consenting to take
my daughter's full-length likeness in the manner I described, say,
twenty-four inches in length. I will pay you most willingly the
two hundred dollars you require for it, and will consider myself a
gainer by the bargain. I shall expect you to decorate this picture
with the most superb landscape you are capable of designing, and
that you will produce a masterpiece of painting. I agree to your
taking it with you to the northward to finish it. Be pleased to
represent my daughter in the finest attitude you can conceive. I
wish the drapery to be white, but if you think some light color
would be handsomer, you can adopt it. I cannot refrain from as-

THE DAUGHTER'S PORTRAIT. HI

suring you that your letter has delighted me beyond measure,
particularly that part of it which proposes your taking this picture
with you to the North to finish, as I know from sad experience
the difference between pictures executed at leisure and those done
under a pressure of business. In the short space of twelve months
I have paid much more than two thousand dollars for pictures of
my family, not one of which can be said to be even a tolerable
likeness, though two of them are certainly beautifully painted.
As the season has far advanced, and my brother Motte writes me
that you have already seventy portraits on your list to be finished
in rotation, I must relinquish for the present my application to
you for the several portraits I had intended, until your return to
Charleston in November next.

" The full-sized half-length portrait of my daughter I hope you
will have time to do justice to, and to finish before you leave
Charleston, as my brother informs me it is now at the head of your
list. If, however, you would prefer to take this picture also with you
to the northward to finish. I would have no objection, but I could
never consent to it unless you will agree to receive payment for it
immediately. If you think your time will permit you to finish this
picture in your best style before your departure from Charleston, I
would of course greatly prefer it, and only make use of the above
observation in case you might prefer taking it with you.
" I am, sir, with great respect,

" Your most obedient and humble servant,

" JOHN A. ALLSTON.
" SAMUEL F. B. MORSE, Esq."

Mr. Allston paid the artist handsomely for these pictures of
his children, and Mr. Morse begged him afterward to accept as
a present his great picture, " The Judgment of Jupiter." It
was accepted in terms as honorable to the writer as to the artist
who so handsomely had expressed his sense of obligation. Mr.
Allston writes to Mr. Morse :

" GEORGETOWN, April 18, 1820.

" MY DEAR SIB : I thank you very sincerely for your kind letter
of the 14th inst., which has just reached me. I am unable to express
to you sufficiently the sense of the obligation I entertain, for the
very splendid present you have been pleased to make me. Much
less am I able to convey to you the value I .set upon the friendly
sentiments you must have experienced and which have induced you

112 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

to make me a present so highly flattering to me. The painting is
of inestimable value, and, though I am delighted in being the
owner of it, yet I cannot refrain from saying (however undeserv
ing I am of it) that I value your regard even more than the picture.
This present is an exhibition of exalted sentiments. It may be my
lot to view it for a number of years. I shall never pass it but with
mingled emotions of admiration for your talents, and of unfeigned
homage to your superior feelings. I will direct Messrs. Kershaw
and Lewis to forward it to me.

" I wish you, my dear sir, a safe voyage to the North, and that
we may live to meet again — and to accept the unfeigned assurance
of the regard of your much obliged and most obedient servant,

" JOHN A. ALLSTON.
" SAMUEL F. B. MORSE, Esq."

The subsequent history of this picture is remarkable. While
Mr. Alls ton lived, it was the most attractive picture in his gal
lery. At his death, his paintings were sold and scattered, and
this one was lost to the knowledge of the artist and his friends.
Many years after, an American collector of pictures bought it in
England, and presented it to Mrs. Parmalee, a niece of Prof.
Morse, without the slightest suspicion of his being the author.
He recognized it instantly on seeing it, and it is now in the pos
session of the family.

In May of 1818, having spent less than five months in
Charleston, and having painted fifty-three portraits, and com
menced nine, to be finished in the summer, Mr. Morse returned
to Boston. Not many days after Ms arrival he received a letter
from Dr. Finley, in Charleston, rallying him playfully on his
having met his Lucretia ; and then the uncle says :

" Finley, I am afraid 'you will be too happy ; you ought to meet
a little rub or two, or you will be too much in the clouds, and forget
that you are among mortals. Let us see if I cannot give you a
friendly hoist downward. Your pictures; ay, suppose I should
speak of them, and what is said of them during your absence. I
will perform the office of him who was placed on the triumphal
car of the conqueror to abuse him lest he should be elated. Well,
4 His pictures,' say people, ' are undoubtedly good likenesses, but
he paints carelessly, and in too much haste, and his draperies are
not well done ; he must be more attentive, or he will lose his repu-

MARRIAGE. ^3

tation.' £ See,' say others, ' how he flatters ! ' * Oh,' says another,
4 he has not flattered me,' etc., etc. By-the-by, I saw old General
C. C. Pinckney yesterday, and he told me in his laughing, humorous
way, that he had requested you to draw his brother Thomas twenty
years younger than he really was, so as to be .a companion to his
own when he was twenty years older than at this time, and to flat
ter him, as he had directed Stuart to do so to him. Here you have
a nice little anecdote to amuse yourself and friends with."

Resuming his labors at home, Mr. Morse spent the summer
in completing the portraits he had brought with him in an un
finished state, and executing such orders as now came to his hand.
On the 6th of October, 1818, the New Hampshire Patriot had
the following notice :

"Married in this town, October 1st, by Rev. Dr. McFarland,
Mr. Samuel F. B. Morse (the celebrated painter) to Miss Lucretia
Walker, daughter of Charles Walker, Esq."

His bridal tour, with horse and gig, after the fashion of the
day, is portrayed in a letter to his parents :

" CONCORD, N. H., October 5, 1818.

" MY DEAR PARENTS : I was married, as I wrote you I should be,
on Tuesday morning last. We set out at nine o'clock, and reached
Amherst, over bad roads, at night. The next day we continued our
journey through Wilton to New Ipswich, eighteen miles, over one
of the worst roads I ever traveled ; all up hill and down, and very
rocky, and no tavern on the road. We inquired at New Ipswich
our best route to Northampton, where we intended to go to meet
Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius ; but we found, on inquiry, that there were
nothing but cross-roads, and these very bad, and no tavern where
we could be comfortably accommodated. Our horse was also tired ;
so we thought our best way would be to return. Accordingly, the
next day we started for Concord, and arrived on Friday evening
safe home again. Lucretia wishes to spend this week with her
friends, so that I shall return (Providence permitting) on this day
week, and reach home by Tuesday noon ; probably to dinner. We
are both well, and send a great deal of love to you all. Mr. and
Mrs. Walker wish me to present their best respects to you.
" Your affectionate son,

"SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE."
8

114 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

On the 12th of the next month, Mr. Morse, with his young
wife, sailed in the schooner Tontine, Captain Fanning, from
New York, for Charleston, S. C. They were welcomed with
great hospitality by the many friends that Mr. Morse had made
the previous winter, and their residence was rendered peculiarly
pleasant by the many attentions they received. Mrs. Morse won
general admiration and love. Several other artists had estab
lished themselves at Charleston, attracted, doubtless, by the
fame of his great success, and with them he had to divide the
business. One man, whom he had employed as a waiter in his
studio, suddenly assumed the proportions of a painter of por
traits, and announced himself in the papers as an artist. He
did not fail altogether in finding patrons, who discovered rare
merit in the painter. But Mr. Morse's old patrons returned
with new friends, and he soon had as much work upon his hands
as he could possibly accomplish. Yet he could not dismiss the
inventions from his thoughts. He was experimenting upon
improvements in the engine. His letters to his brother are not
preserved, but one, in reply to his suggestions, shows how perti-
.naciously his mind was at work :

From Sidney E. Morse.

"ANDOVER, January 17, 1819.

" DEAR BROTHER : For various reasons, which it is not neces
sary to mention, I do not think your experiment a fair test of the
principle. The friction of the potato plug against the sides of
the tube might have been sufficient to destroy the whole force.
In experiments on so small a scale, the friction is very great com
pared with the force exerted. T would not advise you to try the
full experiment, as you propose, with oil and valves, etc., because
there will be a great deal of perplexity and expense which you do
not anticipate ; and, in trying the experiment on so small a scale,
there will be a great many little causes of failure not affecting
the truth of the principle. Besides, the principle can be much
more satisfactorily tested by a simple experiment than by a com
plicated one. I have thought of the following method :

" Procure a cylindrical vessel of tin, of any dimensions, according
to the size of the boat you employ (the larger the better, if it is not
inconveniently large). Let it be divided into two apartments by a
perpendicular partition, as in the following diagram :

«A1

AN IMPROVEMENT SUGGESTED.

I B represents the cylinder, c d the partition running from
the top nearly to the bottom ; e is a little tube \ of an inch in diam
eter or less, capable of being stopped per
fectly tight with a plug (and therefore I
think should not be of tin), f is a tube
•5- an inch in diameter, and capable also
of being completely closed with a plug,
or with the hand. Take care that there
is no leakage, especially in the parti
tion between the two apartments. To
prepare for the experiment: First, let the tube e be carefully
stopped. Then turn the cylinder over so that the line c d shall
be parallel with the horizon, arid then pour in water at the ori
fice /", till you have filled the apartment h. Then let the cylinder
assume its original position, and if every thing is tight the water
will remain in the apartment A, while the apartment g is empty.
The next step is to close the orifice ft either with your hand or
a plug — while some one unstops the tube e, and pours in a dozen
or twenty drops of ether, which will float on the top of the water
in the apartment h. Then let the tube e be closed again. Let
the c}rlinder now be placed in the boat with the orifice f tow
ard the stern, and apply heat to the water in the apartment h
in any convenient way. When the water becomes blood-warm
the ether will be converted into vapor, and force the water from
the apartment h into the apartment </, and, if my theory is cor
rect, will propel the boat forward. If you can conveniently apply
heat enough to make the water boil, you may simplify the ap
paratus still further, for then you might use the steam of the
water, instead of the steam of ether, to force the water out of the
apartment A, and so dispense with the tube e. Two or three days
since, I saw the National Intelligencer, for Wednesday and Thurs
day, January 27th and 28th, and noticed an article headed * An
tiquity of Steamboats.' I want you to get the paper, and read
that article. You will find that they are now actually building a
steamboat on the very principle of the experiment which we tried
in the navy-yard.

" I am much rejoiced to hear that you are going on so pros
perously in your business. Don't let the experiment take up your
time or your thoughts, so as to interfere with your business.

" Your affectionate brother,

" SIDNEY E. MOUSE."

116 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

To Mr. "Washington Allston, having now returned from
London, and established himself in Boston, Mr. Morse wrote,
proposing to exhibit and sell some of the pictures, in Charles
ton, of his distinguished friend. Mr. Allston's mother was
living at that time in Charleston. To the letter of Morse, Mr.
Allston replied as follows :

From 'Washington Allston.

"BOSTON, January 27, 1819.

" MY DEAR SIR : Before this reaches you, you will probably re
ceive the landscape, which you were so good as to undertake the
disposal of in Charleston, or at least to give house-room to there;
I mean the landscape I painted in Italy, and which has been for a
year or two past in Mr. Sully's room, in Philadelphia. The price
I have set on it is two hundred and fifty guineas ; not a farthing less.
If it is worth any thing, I think it worth three hundred ; but I am
content to get two hundred and fifty. At any rate, however, I beg
you to observe that I would on no account sell it for more than
three hundred, even if it should be offered. The price is two hun
dred and fifty ; ask that, and with that I shall be content. I have
directed the case containing the picture to be addressed to you, to
the care of Mr. Hugh Paterson, who was formerly my agent ; and
I must beg the favor of you to pay the freight and other charges
that may be incident to the landing of it, as I have no longer any ac
count standing with Mr. Paterson, which I will repay you when
we meet ; or you may deduct the sum from the sale, if it should be
so fortunate as to meet with a purchaser. I will make no apology
for giving this trouble, since I know you would not consider it
other than a pleasure to render me a service.

" Now the business part of my letter is over, I suppose you
will expect something like news Concerning the art. Sargent is
going on with his second picture of the ' Landing of our Fore
fathers,' and I think will make it better than that of the ' Entrance
into Jerusalem.' He is a worthy and liberal man, and I hope he
may meet with that praise for it which his love of the art, under so
many unexciting, not to say discouraging circumstances, may fairly
entitle him to ; and under which his perseverance is no small proof
that he cultivates it solely for itself. Mr. Stuart has lately painted
a fine head of Commodore Perry. Fisher left this for Charleston
some time since, and I suppose is now there. Leslie, from whom I
lately had a letter, does not contemplate returning to America be-

LETTER FROM ALLSTON. H7

fore the next autumn. John Payne has written a tragedy on the
subject of ' Junius Brutus,' which is now acting with great applause
at the Drury Lane. Kean plays the principal part in it. This is
all the news I have to tell about others. Now concerning myself:
I yesterday received an official communication from Mr. Howard,
the secretary of the Royal Academy, informing me that on the 2d
of November last I was elected an associate of that body. I had
received intelligence of it about three weeks ago, both from Leslie
and Collins. I must own this is very pleasing to me, and I am
sure it will be very gratifying to you ; I am the more pleased too
with the distinction, inasmuch as I never would nor did solicit a
vote from any academician. And this is a proof that the report
of candidates being expected to canvass, or in other words to beg
votes, is without foundation. I wish you could see Collins's letter.
I suppose you know he was made an associate before you left Eng
land. He says I must come back. But that I have no thoughts of
—at least for many good years, if it should please God to grant
me them.

" Something like encouragement seems to appear in our hori
zon ; and if we have any talents we owe something to our country
when she is disposed to foster them. One of the gentlemen con
cerned told me two days ago that he was appointed one of a
committee for engaging me to paint a picture for the hospital here.
As yet I have had no formal notice of it ; but do not doubt that
the communication will soon be made. This, however, is between
ourselves. I expect, in your answer to this, a full and particular
account of all that you are doing. You cannot be too minute. Re
member me most cordially to your wife. And pray present my re
spects to Mrs. Heyward, Mrs. and Miss Rutledge, and Colonel
Drayton anc^ his lady. Remember me also to White, Racot, Frazer,
and Cogdell. Believe me sincerely your friend,

" WASHINGTON ALLSTON.'-'

This letter was post-marked January 29th, and, before it could
have been received in Charleston, Mr. Morse writes to his friend
and teacher :

" CHARLESTON, S. C., February 4, 1819.
" WASHINGTON ALLSTON, Esq.

" My DEAR SIR : Excuse my neglect in not having written you
before this, according to my promise before I left Boston. I can
only plead an apology (what I know will gratify you), & multiplicity

118 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

of business. I am painting from morning till night, and have con
tinual applications ; I have added to my list, this season only, to the
amount of three thousand dollars ; that is, since I left you. Among
them are three full-lengths to be finished at the North, I hope in
Boston, where I shall once more enjoy the advantages of your criti
cisms. I am exerting my utmost to improve ; every picture I try to
make my best ; and in the evening I draw two hours from the an
tique, as I did in London, for I ought to inform you that I fortu
nately found a fine Venus de Medicis without a blemish, imported
from Paris some time since by a gentleman of this city, who wished
to dispose of it ; also a young Apollo, which was so broken that
he gave it to me, saying that it was useless. I have, however, after
a great deal of trouble, put it together entirely, and these two fig
ures, with some fragments, hands, feet, etc., make a very good
academy. Mr. Fraser, Mr. Cogdell, Mr. Fisher, of Boston, and my
self, meet here of an evening to improve ourselves. I feel as much
enthusiasm as ever in my art, and love it more than ever. A few
years, at the rate I am now going on, will place me independent
of public patronage ; thus much for myself, for you told me in one
of your letters from London that I must be more of an egotist, or
you should be less of one in your letters to me, which I should
greatly regret. And now permit me, my dear sir, to congratulate
you on your election to the Royal Academy. I know you will be?-
lieve me when I say I jumped for joy when I heard it : though it
cannot add to your merit, yet it will extend the knowledge of it,
especially in our own country, where we are still influenced by for
eign opinion, and more justly perhaps in regard to taste in the fine
arts than in any other thing.

"I have been using a compound, or rather mixture, in flesh, on
which I wish your opinion. Yellow-ochre has heretofore been the
best yellow that I could use, but it always appeared to me to want
brilliancy ; chrome-yellow, on the contrary, is too bright, or eggy ;
but these two I have mixed half-and-half, and find it excellent
flesh-yellow. I find this mixture also excellent in the shadows of
white drapery, and in reflected lights, when properly tempered with
blue and red. A very strong tint of this yellow, laid on boldly in
a shadow, gives a clearness and liquidness to it which no other yel
low that I have used can give ; and gives a warmth and glow to
the picture, without being hot. I should like to know the result of
your experiment with it. •

" How does your great picture progress ? I hope to see it, when

PORTRAIT OF MONROE. 119

I return, entirely finished. Have you got a good room ? How are
your Boston friends disposed toward you now ? Are they still de
sirous of keeping you with them, and of giving you something to
paint for them ? Do write me, dear sir, all about yourself, as you
used to wish me to do of myself. I long to see you, and talk over
every thing. Do write me, dear sir, soon. You know what a
gratification it will be to one who is proud in calling himself your
pupil. May God bless you, dear sir, and believe me your affection
ate pupil,

"S. F. B. MOKSE."

The Common Council of Charleston paid Mr. Morse the
compliment of requesting him to paint the portrait of JAMES
MONROE, then the President of the United States. And after
spending the summer at the North, and leaving his wife and
their infant daughter in Concord, with Mrs. Morse's parents for
the winter, he returned South, taking "Washington in his way,
that he might execute the commission for the city. He was
alarmed at the price of board, as he writes to his wife, finding
it to be two dollars a day in ]$Tew York City, and equally high in
Washington. I began," he says, in a letter, " on Monday to paint
the President, and have almost completed the head " — this was
on Thursday — " I am thus far pleased with it, but I find it very
perplexing, for he cannot sit more than ten or twenty minutes
at a time ; so that, the moment I feel engaged, he is called
away again. I set my palette to-day at ten o'clock, and waited
until four o'clock this afternoon before he came in. He then
sat ten minutes, and we were called to dinner. Is not this try
ing to one's patience ? My room is at his house, next to his
cabinet-room, for his convenience. When lie has a moment's
leisure he comes in to sit to me. He is very agreeable and affa
ble, as are also his family. I drank tea with them on Saturday,
and dined with them on Monday and to-day." When his work
was completed, the family were so delighted with it that he was
obliged to remain and make a copy for them. The portrait was
considered, by all who saw it at the time, a great triumph of
art. It remains in the City Hall of Charleston.

Another winter was spent in Charleston, South Carolina.
His brother Richard having become a preacher, came down, and
was employed on John's Island, where the artist frequently vis-

120

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

ited him. Speaking of one of these visits in a letter to his wife,
April 8, 1820, he says :

" My visit to John's Island was a very agreeable one. I staid
at Mr. James Legare's, and painted Mrs. Legare, at my leisure. In
the intermediate time we went — I say we — there was Prof. Porter,
of Andover, and brother Richard, and Mr. Wilson, and Thos. Le
gare, and his sons, and the sons of Mr. James Legare, and two or
three others- — we spent a week upon the island. On Monday, we
all dined with Mr. Wilson, and in the afternoon I mounted a horse
(the first time for ten years), and with a Mr. Hart, and Richard, and
Mr. John Legare, set out with six hounds in search of a fox. We
had not proceeded half a mile when the dogs opened their cry, and
the chase commenced. Owing to my want of skill in riding, I was
unable to keep up with the rest of the company, over ditches, and
fences, and cotton-fields, and old logs, so that I did not enjoy the
sport so much as the rest ; but I was, fortunately, in at the death,
as the huntsmen say ; for, after a chase of about half an hour, the
fox took to a cotton-field, and after doubling two or three times
was caught by the dogs. As this field was near where I was left
by the rest, I rode in, in time to see him caught.

" On Tuesday was our great hunting-day. The Legares, Wil
sons, Prof. Porter, Richard, and myself, with two or three others,
set out at nine o'clock in the morning, on a deer-hunt, with eleven
hounds, and a negro, to drive the woods. We were all well mounted
and with guns. I have drawn a little figure below, to explain our
proceedings. The triangular piece is a piece of woods ; the negro,

with the dogs, was put into the
woods at A, while we galloped brisk
ly along the road, and took our dif
ferent stands at B, B, etc. The dogs
soon opened, but, to our mortification,
the deer took the course (7, and
avoided us. When we found the
dogs had passed the road, we all gal
loped off again, and took stands at
_Z), in hopes of heading the deer, but
he again avoided us in the same way ;
so we lost the deer. The dogs soon,

however, opened again, and we found they had scented a fox. We
had a fine chase of an hour after him, in which time we saw him

PORTRAITS IN CHARLESTON. 121

often, and I was enabled to keep up with the rest of the company
all the time. We lost him, however, in the end ; but I was very
much amused at the sagacity of the fox and the hounds. I ar
rived at Mr. Legare's in the evening at eight o'clock, having been
on horseback eleven hours, much fatigued, but very much benefited
in my health by this fine exercise."

A list of the names of all the persons whose portraits he
painted in Charleston during the successive winters of his resi
dence in that city he preserved with care to the end of his life.
It includes Dr. Finley, the Allstons, Mrs. Porter, Dr. Mitch-
ill, Mrs. Hitchborn, Dr. Baron, Mr. Perroneau, Judge Desau-
sare, Mr. Simmons, Mrs. Stiles, Mrs. Heyward, Mrs. Bentham,
Bishop Smith, Major Theus, Major-General Pinckney, Mrs. Smi-
lie, Mr. John Axson, Dr. Poyas, Colonel Drayton, Judge and
Mrs. Cheves, Mr. Legare, Mrs. Dr. Grimkie, Mrs. Colcock,
Lady Nesbit, Mr. and Mrs. Huger, and scores of others. Mr.
Cogdell furnishes Mr. Dunlap with this record of one of Mr.
Morse's last works in Charleston :

" Tn January, 1821, my friend Morse had several conversations
with me about the practicability of establishing an academy. We
agreed to have a meeting ; we solicited the main hall of the city.
Mr. Morse moved that the Hon. Joel R. Poinsett take the chair ;
Mr. Jay that Mr. Cogdell act as secretary. Mr. Morse then sub
mitted a resolution asking of the council a site in the public square
for the building, and we adjourned. A number of artists and ama
teurs were requested to meet at my office, where the first organiza
tion was made of the Academy of Fine Arts. Gentlemen were
named officers and directors ; on my writing to them, they accepted.
Thus was brought into existence the South Carolina Academy of
Fine Arts.

"JOEL B. POINSETT, President.

Directors :

Samuel F. B. Morse, Charles Frazer,

Joshua Cantir, John S. Cogdell,

John B. White, Wm. Jay, architect,

Charles C. Wright, die-sinker, Wm. Shields,
James Wood, engraver, Chs. Simmons, engraver.

" The Legislature granted a charter, but, my good sir, as they
possessed no powers under the constitution to confer taste or talent,

122 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

and possessed none of those feelings which prompt to patronage,
they gave none to the infant academy. We have had as splendid
exhibitions as I have ever seen in any other city. On the presen
tation of my bust of Dr. J. E. Holbrook, I received from the
directors, under the eleventh rule, the title of academician ; but,
cui bono f The institution was allowed, from apathy and opposi
tion, to die, and the property has been sold recently to pay its
debts ; but Mr. Poinsett and myself, with a few others, have pur
chased, with a hope of reviving, the establishment."

In the month of February, 1820, the Rev. Dr. Morse re
signed his charge as pastor in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and
removed to New Haven, Connecticut, with the family of his son.
Mr. Morse joined his family there in the spring, when he came
from South Carolina, and passed the summer in that city. He
had constant employment for his pencil in completing the
paintings he had commenced in Charleston, and he found great
delight in renewing his studies of electricity and galvanism in
the laboratory of Yale College. To this spot lie resorted while
Prof. Silliman was preparing his experiments, and gratified his
tastes for philosophical and chemical studies, in the midst of his
profession as an artist. The painting of portraits was to him, as
to all painters of original power, a weariness, and Mr. Morse re
solved to attempt something in which it might be raised to the
dignity of history. He conceived the idea of making a large pict
ure of the "House of Representatives" at Washington, pre
senting a view of the chamber, and portraits of individual mem
bers. For this purpose he went to Washington in November,
1821, and was kindly received by the President of the United
States, who encouraged his grand undertaking, and gave him
every facility for its execution. The architect of the House,
Mr. Bullfinch, and all the officers of the House, entered cor
dially into the work, and encouraged him with their efficient
aid.

" The President," Mr. Morse writes to his wife, " asked me,
in the course of conversation, whether he could obtain from
New Haven some small elms for his estate in Virginia. He
seemed desirous of having some. Now, I should like very
much if father could procure a dozen at my expense (they will
be but a trifle) and bring them on with him when he comes to

AT THE PRESIDENT'S HOUSE. 123

"Washington. They will not take up any room if the roots are
wound round with mats, and the whole done up as apple or
other trees are transplanted. I should like very much to make
this little acknowledgment to the President for his civilities, and
I think he would be pleased with the attention."

Mr. Morse obtained the use of one of the lower rooms of the
Capitol, and there established his studio, to make it convenient
for the members to sit to him for their portraits ; and while
they were not with him he could work upon the interior of the
chamber. He writes to Mrs. Morse :

" I am up at daylight, have my breakfast and prayers over, and
commence the labors of the day long before the workmen are called
to work on the Capitol by the bell. This I continue unremittingly
till one o'clock, when I dine in about fifteen minutes, and then pur
sue my labors until tea, which scarcely interrupts me, as I often
have my cup of tea in one hand and pencil in the other. Between
ten and eleven o'clock I retire to rest. This has been my course
every day (Sundays, of course, excepted) since I have been here,
making about fourteen hours' study out of the twenty-four. This,
you will say, is too hard, and that I shall injure my health. I can
say that I never enjoyed better health, and my body, by the sim
ple fare I live on, is disciplined to this course. As it will not be
necessary to continue long so assiduously, I shall not fear to pursue
it till this work is done.

" I receive every possible facility from all about the Capitol.
The door-keeper, a venerable man, has offered to light the great
chandelier expressly for me to take my sketches in the evening, for
two hours together, for I shall have it a candle-light effect, when
the room, already very splendid, will appear ten times more so."

His absorption in the picture was so great that once he arose
in the night mistaking the light of the moon for day, and went
to his task, and at another time lost the reckoning of the days
of the week, and attempted to enter the Hall on Sunday to pur
sue his work, and could hardly be persuaded to admit that he
had lost a day. By the middle of December he was working
sixteen hours a day. " I never enjoyed better health ; the mo
ment I feel unwell I shall desist, but I am in the vein now, and
must have my way. I have had a great deal of difficulty with
the perspective of my picture. But I have conquered, and have

124 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

accomplished my purpose. After having drawn in the greater
part three times, I have as many times rubbed it all out again.
I have been, several times, from daylight until eleven o'clock at
night, solving a single problem." And then he turns away from
his " vexations " and " disappointments " to his anxieties for his
little family in New Haven, and says : " How I do long to see
that dear little girl of mine, and to hear her sweet prattle ! In
struct her early, my dear wife, in the most important of all con
cerns ; teach her that there is a great Father above, her obliga
tions to Him and to her Saviour. Kiss her often for papa, and
tell her he will come back one of these days."

The work required far more time than he anticipated. De
cember was gone before the portraits of the members were be
gun. On the 2d of January, 1822, he writes :

" I have commenced to-day taking the likenesses of the mem
bers. I find them not only willing to sit, but apparently esteeming
it an honor. I shall take seventy of them, and perhaps more ; all,
if possible. I find the picture is becoming the subject of conversa
tion, and every day gives me greater encouragement. I shall paint
it on part of the great canvas when I return home. It will be
eleven feet by seven and a half feet ; that will divide the great can
vas exactly into two equal parts, on one of which I paint the
House of Representatives, and the other the Senate. It will take
me until October next to complete it."

He painted eighty portraits on the great picture, and on the
10th of February left Washington. By steady travel in the
stage he performed the journey from Washington to New
Haven in six days, reaching his home and family on Saturday
the 16th of the month.

As a work of art this picture was admirable, but it failed
to attract the attention of the public. The artist's expectations
of deriving profit from its exhibition were disappointed. It
proved a loss to him pecuniarily, and was at length sold to an
English gentleman, who took it to his own country, where it re
mained for several years. The artist lost trace and knowledge
of it. While abroad in after-years he made inquiries for it in
vain. After the lapse of a quarter of a century he received the
following letter from an artist friend :

THE LOST PICTURE FOUND. 125

F. W. Edmonds, Esq., to Prof. Morse.

" NEW YORK, December 7, 1847.

" MY DEAK SIK : I was applied to by a gentleman a few days
since to call and see your picture of the 'House of Representa
tives ' which has been sent to this city from London by a house
who had advanced a sum of money upon it while in England. I
called upon Mr. Durand, and he accompanied me on visiting it.
We found it at the store of Coates & Co., No. 54 Exchange Place,
nailed against a board partition in the third story, almost invisible
from the dirt and dust upon it. It has evidently been rolled up,
and, having no strainer, its surface is as uneven as the waves of the
sea. In one place where it has been rolled the paint has pealed
off in a narrow but long seam, but this is above the heads of
the figures, and I think can be easily repaired. Otherwise the pict
ure seems in a good condition if washed, stretched, and varnished.
They (Coates & Co.) hold it for sale, but in its present condition
few, except those very familiar with pictures, would look at with a
view of purchasing it. I suggested to them to wait till I could
write to you before they showed it, as yo\i would probably de
sire that it should be cleaned and varnished, and, if you were
likely soon to be in the city, would perhaps prefer doing it yourself.
I think it would not cost over ten dollars to put it in good order.
Excuse me for troubling you in this matter, but, believing it to be
one of the best works ever painted by you, and knowing it to be in
valuable as containing portraits of many eminent statesmen of this
country, I could not patiently be silent while in its present con
dition.

" Respectfully and truly yours,
" SAMUEL F. B. MORSE, Esq." « F. W. EDMONDS.

The picture was rescued from its confinement, and became
the property of the distinguished artist Daniel Huntington,
Esq., in whose private gallery it is preserved.

In the winter of 1822, notwithstanding the great expenses
to which Mr. Morse had been subjected in producing this pict
ure, and before he had realized any thing from its exhibition,
he made a donation of five hundred dollars to the library fund
of Yale College, probably the largest donation, in proportion to
the means of the giver, which that institution ever received.
The corporation, by vote, presented the thanks of the board in
the following letter :

126 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" YALE COLLEGE, December 4, 1822.

" DEAR SIR : I am directed, by the corporation of this college,
to present to you the thanks of the board for your subscription of
five hundred dollars for the enlargement of the library. Should this
example of liberality be generally imitated by the friends of the in
stitution, we should soon have a library creditable to the college,
and invaluable to men of literary and philosophic research.
" With respectful and grateful acknowledgments,
" Your obedient servant,

" JEREMIAH DAY.
" Mr. SAMUEL F. B. MORSE."

CHAPTER Y.

1823-1828.

INVENTS A MACHINE FOB CUTTING MAEBLE — GOES TO ALBANY — LITTLE SUC
CESS — EETUENS TO NEW TOEK — POETEAIT OF CHANCELLOB KENT

ICHABOD CEANE AEEANGEMENTS TO GO TO MEXICO AS ATTACH^ TO

THE LEGATION — LETTEE FEOM HON. EOBEET Y. HAYNE — THE SCHEME

ABANDONED — IN NEW HAVEN — TEAVELS IN NEW ENGLAND SETTLES IN

NEW YOEK — COMMISSIONED TO PAINT POETEAIT OF GENEEAL LAFAYETTE
— GOES TO WASHINGTON — SUDDEN DEATH OF HIS WIFE — DEATH OF HIS
FATHEB — FOUNDS THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF DESIGN — SKETCH-CLUB —
LETTEE FEOM GENEEAL T. S. CUMMINGS — LOED LYNDHUEST's LETTEE —
STUDIES IN ELECTEO - MAGNETISM — PEOFESSOE DANA5S LECTUEES — HIS
OWN LECTUEES — ESCAPE FBOM DEATH.

THE inventive faculty, so characteristic of the family to
which Mr. Morse belonged, we have already seen developed
in him. While struggling in his profession, and having far less
to do than he desired, he turned his attention to the invention
of a machine for carving marble, and by which he hoped to be
able to produce statues — perfect copies of any model. Others
have attempted machines for similar purposes, and perhaps with
no better success than crowned his efforts.

On the 6th of August, 1823, while in New Haven, he sent
to the Secretary of State at Washington a letter in the form of a
caveat, in which he describes the machine he had invented, and
his intention to secure a patent for the same. Mr. Augur, an
ingenious mechanic of New Haven, was employed to construct
a working machine. Afterward he used it successfully in cut
ting statues from the solid marble. This machine is frequently
alluded to in his correspondence, and he looked to it as a source
of great pecuniary profit. Early in February of this same year

128 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Mr. Morse went to Boston with his picture of the House of
Representatives, and placed it there upon exhibition.

On the first day the receipts were forty dollars and fifty-five
cents, which sum was sufficient to encourage him that it would
be successful. Mr. Allston called to see it, and Mr. Morse, in a
letter to his wife, remarks that " Mr. Allston says it is a mag
nificent picture. He has suggested some small improvements,
which I can make in two days." But it failed to excite public
attention ; and, leaving it there on exhibition, he went, in the
month of August, to the city of Albany, 1ST. Y., where he had
been encouraged to hope for patronage from the public men.
He had formed a pleasant acquaintance with the Patroon, the
Hon. Stephen Yan Rensselaer, of Albany, who was a member
of Congress while Mr. Morse was engaged in painting his pict
ure of the House of Representatives. He immediately com
menced the portrait of the Patroon, which he designed to
exhibit in Albany as a specimen of his art. Day after day he
waited patiently in hopes of winning, by the exhibition of the
portrait, a few at least who might be tempted to employ him.
He writes to his wife :

"I have found lodgings — a large front room on the second
story, twenty-five by eighteen feet, and twelve feet high — a fine
room for painting, with a neat little bedroom, and every conven
ience, and board, all for six dollars a week, which I think is very
reasonable. My landlord is an elderly Irish gentleman, with three
daughters, once in independent circumstances, but now reduced.
Every thing bears the appearance of old-fashioned gentility, which
you know I always liked. Every thing is neat and clean and gen
teel. The family reside at No. 94 North Pearl Street. They are
well acquainted with Bishop Brownell and his lady, and say that
they always call when they come to Albany. Colonel Baldwin has
been very kind and obliging to me. He is in high estimation in
this city, and deservedly so. Elkanah Watson is not in town. I
called on Rev. Dr. Chester, and heard him preach to-day. Bishop
Hobart and a great many acquaintances were on board of the boat
upon which I came up to this city. I can form no idea as yet of
the prospect of success in my profession here. If I get enough to
employ me, I shall go no farther ; if not, I may visit some of the
smaller towns in the interior of the State. I await with some anx-

PORTRAIT OF KENT. . 129

iety the result of experiments with my machine. I hope the inven
tion may enable me to remain at home."

On the 16th of August he writes :

"I have not as yet received any application for a portrait.
Many tell me I have come at the wrong time — the same tune that
has been rung in my ears so long ! I hope the right time will come
by-and-by. The winter, it is said, is the proper season ; but, as it
is better in the South in that season, and it will be more profitable
to be there, I shall give Albany a thorough trial and do my best.
If I should not find enough to employ me here, I think I shall re
turn to New York and settle there. This I had rather not do at
present, but it may be the best that I can do. Roaming becomes
more and more irksome. Imperious necessity alone drives me to
this course. Don't think by this I am faint-hearted. I shall per
severe in this course, painful as is the separation from my family,
until Providence clearly points out my duty to return."

August %%d. — " I have something to do. I have one portrait
in progress, and the promise of more. One hundred dollars will pay
all my expenses here for three months, so that the two I am now
painting will clear me in that respect, and all that comes after will
be clear gain. I am, therefore, easier in my mind as to this. The
portrait now painting is Judge Moss Kent, brother of the Chancel
lor. He says that I shall paint the Chancellor when he returns to
Albany, and his niece also ; and, from these particulars, you may
infer that I shall be here for some little time longer, just so long as
my good prospects continue ; but, should they fail, I am determined
to try New York City, and sit down there in my profession perma
nently. I believe I have now attained sufficient proficiency to
venture there. My progress may be slow at first, but I believe it
will be sure. I do not like going South, and I have given up the
idea of New Orleans or any Southern city, at least for the present.
Circumstances may vary this determination, but I think a settle
ment in New York is more feasible now than ever before. I shall
be near you and home in cases of emergency, and in the summer
and sickly season can visit you at New Haven, while you can do
the same to me in New York, until we live again at New Haven
altogether. I leave out of this calculation- the machine for sculpt
ure. If that should entirely succeed, my plans would be materially
varied ; but I speak of my present plan as if that had failed. I
hope Mr. Augur will not be discouraged by the little minutiae of
9

130 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

the machine, but carry it through. I should like to have a letter
from him on the subject, putting down a list of questions respecting
marble and marble-cutting which he wishes me to ask of stone-cut
ters, as there are some here, and I can gain much from them.

" With respect to young Longworth, I should have no objection
to take him as a pupil, if I go to New York, on what terms I am
hardly prepared now to say. I may find it to be an advantage to
take a number of pupils."

August 24th. — " I finished Mr. Kent's picture yesterday, and
received the money for it. Mr. Kent is very polite to me, and has
introduced me to a number of persons and families ; among others
to the Kanes — very wealthy people — to Governor Yates, etc. Mr.
Clinton's son called on me and invited me to their house. I have
been introduced to Senor Rocafuerto, the Spaniard, who made so
excellent a speech before the Bible Society last May. He is a very
handsome man, very intelligent, full of wit and vivacity. He is a
great favorite with the ladies, and is a man of wealth and a zealous
patriot/ studying our manners, customs, and improvements, with a
view of benefiting his own countrymen in Peru."

August 2Yth, lie writes again to his wife :

" My last two letters have held out to you some encouraging
prospects of success here, but now they seem darkened again. I
have had nothing to do this week thus far but to wait patiently. I
have advertised in both of the city papers that I should remain one
week to receive applications, but as yet it has produced no effect.
Mr. Kent's niece has not arrived as expected, so that it is
doubtful whether I shall paint her ; but, as she lives in New York,
and as it is to be for Mr. Kent, I can make arrangements to paint it
for him there. Chancellor Kent is out of town, and will not be in
until the end of next month. It is hardly worth while to stay solely
for that ; many have been talking of having their portraits painted,
but there it has thus far ended. I find nothing in Albany which
can profitably employ my leisure hours. If there were any pictures
or statuary where I could sketch and draw, it would be different.
I have visited several families who have been very kind to me,
for which I am thankful. I shall leave Albany and return to New
York a week from to-day, if there is no change in my prospects.
The more I think of making a push at New York as a permanent
place of residence in my profession, the more proper it seems that it
should be at once. New York does not yet feel the influx of wealth

HIS EASEL IN NEW YORK. 131

from the Western canals, but in a year or two she will feel it, and it
will be advantageous to me to be previously identified among her
citizens as a painter. It requires some little time to become re
nowned in such a city."

All Ms hopes of patronage in Albany were dissipated •; and
on fhe 3d of September he writes to his wife :

" I have nothing to do, and shall pack up on the morrow for
New York, unless appearances change again. I have not had full
employment since I have been in Albany, and I feel miserable in
doing nothing."

After a brief visit with his family at New Haven, he went
to New York, to carry out his purpose of making a permanent
settlement in that city in the pursuit of his profession as an
artist. He made the passage from New Haven to New York
by water ; was driven in by a gale into Black Rock Harbor, and
there detained, and the next day completed the journey to New
York by land. "Writing home the next day, he says :

" I have obtained a place to board at friend Coolidge's, at two
dollars and twenty-five cents a week, and have taken for my studio
a fine room in Broadway, opposite Trinity Churchyard, for which I
am to pay six dollars and fifty cents a week, being fifty cents less
than I expected to pay. I shall go to work in a few days vigor
ously. It is a half-mile from my room to the place where I board,
so that I am obliged to walk more than three miles every day. It
is good exercise for me, and I feel better for it. I sleep in my
room on the floor, and put my bed out of sight during the day, as
at Washington. I feel in the spirit of ' buckling down to it,' and
am determined to paint and study with all my might this winter."

The first portrait which he painted, after his coming to New
York, was that of the distinguished Chancellor Kent. He says
of the Chancellor :

" He is not a good sitter ; he scarcely presents the same view
twice ; he is very impatient, and you well know that I cannot paint
an impatient person ; I must have my mind at ease or I cannot
paint. I have no more applications as yet, but it is not time to
expect them. All the artists are complaining, and ftiere are many
of them, and they are all poor. The arts are as low as the}' can be.

132 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

It is no better at the South, and all the accounts of the arts or
artists are of the mosi discouraging nature."

And in successive letters to his wife he says :

" I waited many days in the hope of some application in my
profession, but have been disappointed, until last evening I ca.lled
and spent the evening with my friend Mr. Van Schaick, and told
him I had thought of painting some little design from the ' Sketch-
Book,' so as not to be idle, and mentioned the subject of ' Ichabod
Crane discovering the headless horseman.' He said : ' Paint it for
me, and another picture of the same size, and I will take them of
you.' So I am now employed. I shall want immediately the little
plaster cast of the horse, which is at my painting-room. I have re
ceived Mr. Augur's- letter. It is a very encouraging one. All the
difficulties that he complains of are unconnected with the invention,
and those which we apprehended have not been realized, so that
here is fresh cause for gratitude. My secret scheme is not yet dis-
closable, but I shall let you know as soon as I hear any thing
definite."

" You will be anxious to know what I am doing. The answer
is very simple — * Nothing? I am waiting for applications, but none
offer. The chancellor's picture and Mr. Dewey's have been finished
about a week ; and, as far as painting is concerned, I am completely
idle, and of course a little low-spirited. I have been active in call
ing on my friends and inviting them to my room ; they have prom
ised to come, but as yet few have called. As far as human fore
sight can perceive, my'prospects seem gloomy indeed. The only
gleam of hope — and I cannot underrate it — is from confidence in
God. When I look upward, it calms my apprehensions for the
future, and I seem to hear a voice saying : ' If I clothe the lilies of
the field, shall I not also clothe you ? ' Here is my strong confidence,
and I will wait patiently for the direction of Providence. I have
seen many of the artists ; they all agree that little is doing in the
city of New York. It seems wholly given to commerce. Every
man is driving at one object — the making of money — not the
spending of it.

" What is Mr.. Augur doing with the machine ? Is he still san
guine ? I should be glad to hear from him."

" My secret scheme looks promising, but I am still in suspense ;
you shall know»the moment it is decided one way or the other. I
met with a singular accident to-day. You recollect I complained

OUT OF FUNDS. 133

of a little bone being out of place in my left hand, which pained me
when I touched it. To-day in coming out of the house I slipped
down, and came with my whole weight upon my left hand. I felt
something snap, and experienced a good deal of pain in it for a few
moments ; upon examining my hand, I found, to my surprise, that
this bone had snapped into its place, and in about half an hour the
pain left me, and my hand is as well as it ever was."

The straits to which he was reduced, and his plans for the
future, are developed in the following letter :

"NEW YORK, December 21, 1823.

" MY DEAR WIFE : . . . Last Saturday we had a meeting at a
private house. Dr. Milnor was present, and made an address. While
engaged there, a thief slipped into the entry where were our hats
and coats, but, being discovered, he made a precipitate retreat, and
carried with him my hat. The circumstance was not known to us till
we were ready to go ; no other gentleman lost any thing. Had
they taken Edward's surtout, they would have deranged his whole
business, as all his memoranda and accounts were in the pocket of
it. The act was a very audacious one, and to me a serious loss, as I
had to purchase immediately another hat, which cost four dol
lars, and obliged me to break the last five-dollar bill I have.

" My cash is almost gone, and I begin to feel some anxiety and
perplexity to know what to do. I have advertised, and visited, and
hinted, and pleaded, and even asked one man to sit, but all to no
purpose. I have been stopped, too, in the pictures for Mr. Van S.,
by the delay of the packet having the little horse on board ; the
Paragon has not yet arrived. My expenses, with the most rigid
economy too, are necessarily great; my rent to-morrow will amount
to thirty-three dollars, and I have nothing to pay it with. What can
I do ? I have been here five weeks, and there is not the smallest
prospect now of any difference as to business. I am willing to stay,
and wish to stay, if there is any thing to do. The pictures that I
am painting for Mr. V. S. will not pay my expenses if painted here ;
my rent and board would eat it all up. I have thought of various
plans, but what to decide upon I am completely at a loss, nor can I
decide, until I hear definitely from Washington in regard to my
Mexico expedition. Since brother Sidney has hinted it to you, I
will tell you the state of it. I wrote to General Van Rensselaer, Mr.
Poinsett, and Colonel Hayne of the Senate, applying for some situ
ation in the legation to Mexico soon to be sent thither. I stated my

134 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

object in going, and my wish to go free of expense, and under gov
ernment protection. I received a letter a few days ago from Gen
eral Van Rensselaer, in which he says : ' I immediately laid your re
quest before the President, and seconded it with my warmest rec
ommendations. It is impossible to predict the result at present.
If our friend Mr. Poinsett is appointed minister, which his friends
are pressing, he will no doubt be happy to have you in his suite.'

" Thus the case rests at present : if Mr. Poinsett is appointed, I
shall probably go to Mexico ; if not, it will be more doubtful. I
have placed it on this ground, that I am to be at no expense in
getting there, and back again ; so that, if I fail in the objects of my
visit there, I am at no expense, and I am also under government
protection, should the country be in a revolutionary state and un
safe for other strangers. If I go, I should take my picture of the
House of Representatives, which, in the present state of favorable
feeling toward our country, I should probably dispose of to advan
tage. All accounts that I hear from Mexico are in the highest de
gree favorable to my enterprise, and I hear much from various
quarters."

December 29th. — " I am waiting with some anxiety for news
from Washington. There is no guessing when the President will
make his appointment. It rests with him. My way, however, is
plain : I see present duty, and that is as much as I ought to desire."

In the midst of his discouragements he had determined to
go if possible, to Mexico, and establish himself in his profession
in the capital. Having met Mr. Poinsett, the former American
minister to that country, and formed with him a pleasant ac
quaintance, he had learned much from him in relation to Mex
ico, and had been encouraged to believe that he might succeed
in that comparatively untried field of professional labor.

He submitted to Mr. Poinsett a series of written questions,
and had received from him written answers, giving the most
minute information in relation to the prospects of success in
that country, and the preparation which it would be necessary
for him to make for the journey. Through his friend General
Stephen Yan Rensselaer, of Albany, and others, he hoped, and
with good reason, to be able to procure an appointment to Mex
ico on the legation about to be sent to that country. Strong
hopes were entertained that Mr. Poinsett himself would be ap-

EGBERT T. HAYNE. 135

pointed minister ; but, after great delay, the mission was given
to the Hon. Ninian Edwards, of Illinois.

These negotiations in relation to the appointment occupied
several months, during which time Mr. Morse was kept in a
state of the greatest anxiety; and, not until the middle of
March, was it finally settled that he should be attached to the
legation. A note from the Hon. Robert Y. Hayne, the dis
tinguished Senator from South Carolina, whose name is asso
ciated in history with that of Webster and the great debate on
State rights in the Senate, informed Mr. Morse of his appoint
ment. He says : " Governor Edwards' s suite consists of Mr.
Mason, of Georgetown, District of Columbia, secretary of the
legation ; Mr. Hodgson, of Virginia, private secretary, and
yourself attache" Mr. Hayne addressed to Mr. Morse the
following letter, which contains material of interest in connec
tion with the politics of that day :

Hon. E. T. Hayne to S. F. B. Morse.

"WASHINGTON, March 15, 1824.

" DEAR SIR : Having a few moments at command, I hasten to
answer yours of the 9th inst. The movement in Pennsylvania took
place without the knowledge or concurrence of Mr. Calhoun or of
his friends here. The first step was as unexpected to us as it
could have been to you. It was a spontaneous movement of Mr.
Calhoun's friends in Pennsylvania, founded on a conviction that they
could not successfully oppose General Jackson, and believing that
it was necessary to concentrate on him, in order to defeat Craw
ford. Pennsylvania was the foundation of Mr. Calhoun's hopes—
and, that being taken away, it is the duty of Mr. Calhoun's friends
to admit that his prospects of the presidency are destroyed ; those
who supported him, therefore, will have to decide for themselves
what is next to be done. In South Carolina, Jackson is by far the
most popular man, and will doubtless be supported. I think the
great object ought to be to defeat Crawford. If Adams be the
only man who can accomplish that in New England, he ought, I
think, to be supported there. A friendly feeling should be cherished
by the friends of all the anti-caucus candidates ; the common cause
must not be jeopardized by disputes among them. I will confess
that I prefer Jackson to any candidate except Calhoun. I think
you have a very mistaken impression of him in New England.

136 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

I am satisfied that, in good sense, practical knowledge, and even
in temper, he is decidedly superior to Adams or Crawford. The
general's conduct and deportment here have secured him many
friends, and when his conduct is examined in those respects in which
it has been censured, I feel assured that it will be found that in
many instances facts have been mistaken, and in others that he
can be fully justified. I think he will be a safe President, sur
rounded by an able cabinet. I think his prospect for the presi
dency is at present decidedly the best.

"I will with great pleasure see Mr. Edwards on the subject of
your application, and will exert any influence I may possess in your
behalf. Remember me to your venerable father and Mrs. Morse, and
for yourself receive the assurance of. the great respect and esteem
of yours,

" ROBERT Y. HAYNE."

General Yan Rensselaer, in Washington, wrote to him :

" I congratulate you on your prospect of visiting Mexico, and I
hope you will meet with success in your enterprise. The minister
is absent on a visit to Philadelphia. I will endeavor to procure a
letter from Colonel Gometz or Colonel Polilatie ; Mr. Poinsett thinks
it, however, unnecessary. If you could send me, without much
trouble, a seed of the arbor de las manitas, or ' hand-tree,' you
would oblige me. I wish you a pleasant voyage and journey, and
safe return."

One of his relatives writes to him, in reference to his pro
posed expedition to Mexico : " I think the experiment worth
making ; there is every thing to gain and nothing to lose," which
happily presents the desperate condition of his affairs.

He continues the story :

"I left home on the 5th of April, 1824, for Washington and
Mexico, accompanied by my father, wife, and sister, as far as New
York. On the 7th they returned to New Haven, and I proceeded
on my way to Philadelphia, with my heart too full of the various
saddening emotions which naturally occur to one who has parted
with his dearest friends for a long and uncertain period, to enjoy
either the country through which I passed or the society of my
fellow-passengers. A thousand affecting incidents of separation
from my beloved family crowded upon my recollection. The un-

EXPEDITION ABANDONED. 137

conscious gayety of my dear children as they frolicked in all their
wonted playfulness, too young to sympathize in the pangs that
agitated their distressed parents; their artless request to bring
home some trifling toy, the parting kiss, not understood as meaning
more than usual ; the tears and sad farewells of father, mother,
wife, sister, family, friends ; the desolateness of every room, as the
parting glance is thrown on each familiar object, and farewell, fare
well, seemed written on the very walls — all these things bear upon
my memory ; and I realize the declaration that ' the places which
now know us shall know us no more.' "

With these sorrowful reflections, Mr. Morse pursued his
journey, only to find in "Washington that political reasons, long
since forgotten, prevented Mr. Edwards from going to Mexico,
and the expedition was abandoned. Disappointment was thus
far the rule rather than the exception of his life. He writes to
his wife from Washington, April 22, 1824 :

" I hardly know what to say, or think, or do. I went to the
House of Representatives this morning, to hear the report of the
committee in the case of Mr. Edwards. They stated it was neces
sary to a full investigation, to have Mr. Edwards present, who is
now absent in Illinois. Mr. Randolph, one of the committee, in
formed the House that a warrant was already issued to detain him,
and that a messenger was on the way to serve it. Thus am I
placed in a most unpleasant state ; one which no human foresight
could predict or provide against. Some say that I shall be detained
for more than a month, and advise me to go home and wait ; others
advise me to give up going ; and others to go on without the lega
tion. Among the latter is Mr. Poinsett." The next day he writes :
" I have seen the President and the Secretary of State, and had a
conversation with them on the subject of the detention of the lega
tion. The President told me explicitly that there would be a delay
of five or six weeks at least, and perhaps of some months. It was
intimated that it might be necessary to send the secretary of the
legation without the minister for the present. In that case we
should sail from New York."

But it was finally determined that the legation should not
be sent, and Mr. Morse returned to his family in New Haven.
The summer was spent there, and in Concord, Portsmouth, and
Portland, whither he went for the purpose of painting portraits

138 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

of particular individuals, who applied to liim to come for that
purpose. In the autumn of that year he resumed his professional
labors in' the city of New York, and for a time had his family
with him there. His studio was at number 96 Broadway. He
lodged in his studio, and boarded at Mrs. Thompson's. He re
ceived as his pupils some young men, who afterward attained
distinction in their professions, among them were Field and
Agate. In December, he writes :

" I am going on prosperously, through the kindness of Provi
dence in raising up many friends, who are exerting themselves in
my favor. My storms are partly over, and a clear and pleasant day
is dawning upon me.

" Mr. Auger's bust of the ' Apollo,' made with my machine, is
very much admired ; and, in the Statesman of this evening, there
is a handsome notice of it by Mr. Carter, who called to see it. I
hope I may be able to sell it for Mr. Auger. I have put the price
at three hundred dollars ; but I think, although it is worth that
and more, that, in consequence of the defects in the marble, it can
not be sold for so much. This work does him the greatest credit."

These expectations, so cheerfully expressed in this letter to
his wife, were still further heightened by his receiving a com
mission from the corporation of the city of New York to paint
a portrait of General Lafayette, who was at this time on a visit
to the United States. Lafayette was in Washington, and thither
Mr. Morse resorted, after having, by correspondence, arranged
for the time which could be given to him by the General for
the purpose of taking his portrait. Mr. Morse was received by
him with great kindness, and the acquaintance then commenced
was continued until the death of Lafayette.

Mr. Morse's letters to Mrs. Morse furnish the best account
of his struggles and success at this critical period in his his
tory:

"NEW YORK, January 4, 1825.

" You will rejoice with me, I know, in my continued and in
creasing success. I have just learned in confidence from one of the
members of the committee of the corporation appointed to procure
a full-length portrait of Lafayette, that they have designated me
as the painter of it, and that a sub-committee was appointed to
wait on me with the information. They will probably call to-mor-

PORTRAIT OF LAFAYETTE. 139

row ; but, until it is thus officially announced to me, I wish the
thing kept secret, except to the family, until I write you more
definitely on the subject, which I will do the moment the terms,
etc., are settled with the committee. I shall probably be under the
necessity of going to Washington to take it immediately (the
corporation, of course, paying my expenses), but of this in my next.
If I go on to Washington, I shall not probably be in New Havren
till the 1st of February, but shall make a great effort to be there
before. I shall write you fully of my determination and plans the
moment they are formed.

"NEW YORK, January 6, 1825.

" I have been officially notified of my appointment to paint the
full-length portrait of Lafayette, for the city of New York, so
that you may make it as public as you please. The terms are not
definitely settled ; the committee are disposed to be very liberal. I
shall have at least seven hundred dollars — probably one thousand.
I have to wait until an answer can be received from Washington
from Lafayette to know when he can see me; the answer will
arrive, probably, on Wednesday morning; after that I can deter
mine what to do about going on ; the only thing I fear is, that it is
going to deprive me of my dear Lucretia. Recollect the old lady's
saying, often quoted by mother, c There is never a convenience but
there ain't one.' I long to see you.

" Mr. Auger's bust is exciting great attention and admiration,
as will be seen by the New York papers. I cannot but hope I shall
be able to dispose of it for him. Tell him I shall hold it at three
hundred dollars, and he ought not to let it go for one cent less.

" I have made an arrangement with Mr. Durand to have an
engraving of Lafayette's portrait ; I receive half the profits. Van-
derlyn, Sully. Peale, Jarvis, Waldo, Inman, Ingham, and some
others, were my competitors in the application for this picture."

"NEW YORK, January 8, 1825.

" Your letter of the 5th I have just received, and one from the
committee of medical students, engaging me to paint Dr. Smith's
portrait for them when I come to New Haven. They are to give
me one hundred dollars. I have written them that I should be in
New Haven by the 1st of February, or, at farthest, by the 6th.
So that it is only prolonging for a little longer, my dear wife, the
happy meeting which I anticipated by the 25th of this month.
Events are not under our own control. When I consider how

140 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

wonderfully things are working for the promotion of the great and
long-desired event — that of being constantly with my dear family —
all unpleasant feelings are absorbed in this joyful anticipation, and
I look forward to the spring of the year with delightful prospects
of seeing my dear family permanently settled with me in our own
hired house here. There are more encouraging prospects than I
can trust to paper at present, which must be left for your private
ear, and which in magnitude are far more valuable than any en
couragement yet made known to you. Let us look with thankful
hearts to the Giver of all these blessings."

" WASHINGTON, February 8, 1825.

" I arrived safely in this city last evening. I find I have no time
to lose, as the marquis will leave here the 23d. I have seen him,
and am to breakfast with him to-morrow, and to commence his por
trait. If he allows me time sufficient, I have no fear as to the re
sult. He has a noble face. In this I am disappointed, for I had
heard that his features were not good. On the contrary if there is
any truth in expression or character, there never was a more perfec
example of accordance between the face and the character. H,
has all that noble firmness and consistency, for which he has beei
so distinguished strongly indicated in his whole face. While ht
was reading my letters I could not but call to mind the leading
events of his truly eventful life. 'This is the man now before me,
the very man,' thought I, ' who suffered in the dungeon of Olmuiz ;
the very man who took the oaths of the new constitution for so
many millions, while the eyes of thousands were fixed upon him
(and which is so admirably described in the life which I read to
you just before I left home) ; the very man who spent his youth,
his fortune, and his time, to bring about (under Providence) our
happy Revolution ; the friend and companion of Washington, the
terror of tyrants, the firm and consistent supporter of liberty ; the
man whose beloved name has rung from one end of this continent
to the other, whom all flock to see, whom all delight to honor ; this
is the man, the very identical man ! ' My feelings were almost too
powerful for me, as I shook him by the hand, and received the
greeting of, ' Sir, I am exceedingly happy in your acquaintance, and
especially on such an occasion.'

" I attended the debates to-day. The House was principally, if
not wholly, occupied in discussing the measures for balloting for
President. The next day after to-morrow will be the great day.

PRESIDENTS LEVEE. 141

From all I can learn there is scarcely a doubt but the choice will
fall on Mr. Adams."

[No choice having been made by the people, the election
went to the House of Kepresentatives, and John Quincy Adams
was elected.]

" WASHINGTON, February 10, 1825.

" I went last evening to the President's levee, the last which Mr.
Monroe will hold as President of the United States. There was a
great crowd, and a great number of distinguished characters, among
whom were General Lafayette, the President-elect, J. Q. Adams,
Mr. Calhoun, the Vice-President-elect, General Jackson, etc. I paid
my respects to Mr. Adams, and congratulated him on his election.
He seemed, in some degree, to shake off his habitual reserve, and,
although he endeavored to suppress his feelings of gratification at his
success, it was not difficult to perceive that he felt in high spirits
on the occasion. General Jackson went up to him, and, shaking
:him by the hand, congratulated him cordially on his election. The
^general bears his defeat like a man, and has shown, I think, by this
tict, a nobleness of mind which will command the respect of those
*who have been most opposed to him. The excitement (if it may be
°called such) on this great question, in Washington, is over, and
every thing is moving on in its accustomed channel again. All
seem to speak in the highest terms of the order and decorum pre
served through the whole of this imposing ceremony, and the good
feeling which seems to prevail, with but trivial exceptions, is
thought to augur well in behalf of the new administration.

" I went, last night, in a carriage with four others — Captain
Chauncey, of the Navy ; Mr. Cooper, the celebrated author of the
popular American novels ; Mr. Causici (pronounced Cau-see-chee),
the sculptor; and Mr. Owen, of Lanark, the celebrated philanthro
pist. Mr. Cooper remarked that we had on board a more singularly-
selected company, he believed, than any carriage at the door of the
President's, viz. : a misanthropist (such he called Captain Chauncey,
brother of the commodore), a philanthropist (Mr. Owen), a painter
(myself), a sculptor (Mr. Causici), and an author (himself).

" The Mr. Owen mentioned above is the very man I sometimes
met at Mr. Wilberforce's in London, and who was present at the
interesting scene I have often related that occurred at Mr. Wilber
force's. He recollected the circumstance, and recognized me, as I
did him, instantly, although it is twelve years ago.

142 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" I am making progress with the general, but am much per
plexed for want of time ; I mean his time. He is so harassed by
visitors, and has so many letters to write, that I find it exceedingly
difficult to do the subject justice. I give him the last sitting in
Washington to-morrow, reserving another sitting or two when he
visits New York in July next. I have gone on thus far to my satis
faction, and do not doubt but I shall succeed entirely, if I am
allowed the requisite number of sittings. The general is very
agreeable. He introduced me to his son, by saying : ' This is Mr.
Morse, the painter ; the son of the geographer ; he has come to
Washington to take the topography of my face.' He thinks of
visiting New Haven again, when he returns from Boston. He re
gretted not having seen more of it when he was there, as he was
much pleased with the place. He remembers Prof. Silliman and
others, with great affection. I have left but little room in this let
ter to express my affection for my dearly-loved wife and children ;
but, of that, I need not assure them. I long to hear from you ;
but direct your letters next to New York, as I shall probably be
there by the end of next week, or the beginning of the succeeding
one. Love to all the family, and friends and neighbors. Your
affectionate husband, as ever."

Alas, for all human hopes! One more sitting, and the
proud artist was to return to his beloved wife. A letter from
his father brings to him the overwhelming intelligence of her
sudden death. !

Rev. Dr. Morse to his Son.

" NEW HAVEN, February 8, 1825.

" MY AFFECTIONATELY-BELOVED SON i Mysterious are the ways
of Providence. My heart is in pain and deeply sorrowful, while I
announce to you the sudden and unexpected death of your dear
and deservedly-loved wife. Her disease proved to be an affection
of the heart — incurable, had it been known. Dr. Smith's letter,
accompanying this, will explain all you will desire to know on this
subject. I wrote you yesterday that she was convalescent. So
she then appeared, and so the doctor pronounced. She was up
about five o'clock yesterday afternoon, to have her bed made, as
usual ; was unusually cheerful and social ; spoke of the pleasure of
being with her dear husband in New York, ere long ; stepped into
bed herself; fell back, with a momentary struggle, on her pillow;
her eyes were immediately fixed, the paleness of death over-

A FATHER'S LETTER. 143

spread her countenance, and in five minutes more, without the
slightest motion, her mortal life terminated. It happened that,
just at this moment I was entering her chamber-door with Charles
in my arms, to pay her my usual visit, and to pray with her. The
nurse met me affrighted, calling for help. Your mother, the family,
and neighbors, full of the tenderest sympathy and kindness, and the
doctors, thronged the house in a few minutes ; every thing was done
that could be done, to save her life. But her ' appointed time ' had
come, and no earthly skill or power could stay the hand of death.
It was the Lord who gave her to you, the chiefest of all your
earthly blessings, and it is He that has taken her away ; and may
you be enabled, my son, from the heart to say, * Blessed be the
name of the Lord ! ' Go directly to Him who alone can give you
effectual help in time of need. Think of Jesus at the house of
Martha and Mary, on the death of * their brother — whom Jesus
loved — how he pitied them, wept with them, and comforted them.
This same Jesus, with the like feelings which he manifested on
this occasion, still lives at the right hand of his Father, is touched
with the feelings of his afflicted children, and pleads effectually
with his Father in their behalf. When the disciples had buried
John the Baptist, * they went and told Jesus.' Go, my afflicted
son, and tell him your sorrow, of the loss you have sustained. He
loves to have his disciples manifest this affectionate confidence in
him, and to come and tell him all their troubles. He will direct
and comfort you. Pursuing this course, you will surely find the
most solid support, and in no other is it to be found. Our neighbors
are full of sympathy for us, and manifest it in all ways best adapted
to comfort us. For you they express the tenderest feelings, with
many tears, and they cheerfully promise to remember you in their
prayers. I have no doubt these prayers will be heard, and that
you will have the comfort of them. The shock to the whole fam
ily is far beyond, in point of severity, that of any we have ever be
fore felt ; but we are becoming composed, we hope, on grounds which
will prove solid and lasting.

" I expect this will reach you on Saturday, the day after the one
we have appointed for the funeral, when you will have been in
"Washington a week, and I hope will have made so much progress
in your business as that you will soon be able to return.

" All join in tenderest sympathy and love for you, with youi
afflicted and affectionate father,

"JED. MORSE."

144 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

His brother Sidney also wrote to him :

" NEW YORK, February 9, 1825.

" MY DEAR BROTHER : Father has doubtless informed you of the
melancholy event which has filled all our hearts with unspeakable
sorrow. May God support you under this most afflicting stroke of
his providence ! He has seen fit to deprive us of her, who was so
eminently lovely, at a moment when our earthly prospects had put
on their most smiling aspect, and when we were fondly looking
forward to long years of enjoyment ; and she was to have been a
partaker in every pleasure ; but God has taken her to himself, to
that world where we must all soon follow, and where separation
and sorrow are unknown. Let us bow before the will of him who
does all things right."

He was at Gadsby's Hotel, when this blow fell upon him.
Unable to keep his appointment to proceed that day with his
painting, and having sent a message to General Lafayette, ex
plaining his absence, he received immediately from the General
a few lines of generous sympathy :

" I have feared to intrude upon you, my dear sir, but want to tell
you how deeply I sympathize in your grief — a grief of which nobody
can better than me appreciate the cruel feelings. You will hear
from me, as soon as I find myself again near you, to finish the work
you have so well begun. Accept my affectionate and mournful
sentiment. " LAFAYETTE.

"February 11, 1825."

He left Washington the day after the news reached him, and
stopped in Baltimore over Sunday, with a friend, from whose
house he writes to his parents :

"BALTIMORE, Sunday, February 13, 1825.

" MY DEAR FATHER : The heart-rending tidings which you com
municated reached me, in Washington, on Friday evening. I left
yesterday morning, spend this day here at Mr. Cushing's, and set
out on my return home, to-morrow. I shall reach Philadelphia on
Monday night, New York on Tuesday night, and New Haven on
Wednesday night. Oh, is it possible — is it possible ? shall I never
see my dear wife again ? But, I cannot trust myself to write on
the subject. I need your prayers, and those of Christian friends,
to God for support. I fear I shall sink under it.

"Oh, take good care of her dear children !

" Your agonized son, " FINLEY."

LETTER TO A FRIEND. 145

He did not reach New Haven, traveling by stage, until nearly
a week after his wife had been consigned to the grave. A month
after the death of his wife he writes to a friend :

"NEW YORK, March 20, 1825.

" MY DEAR MADAM : Though late in performing the promise I
made you, of writing you when I arrived home, I hope you will
attribute it to any thing but forgetfulness of that promise. The
confusion and derangement consequent on such an afflicting be
reavement as I have suffered, have rendered it necessary for me to
devote the first moments of composure to looking about me, and to
collecting and arranging the fragments of the ruin which has
spread such desolation over all my earthly prospects. Oh, what a
blow ! I dare not yet give myself up to the full survey of its
desolating effects ; every day brings to my mind a thousand new
and fond connections with dear Lucretia, all now ruptured. I feel
a dreadful void, a heart-sickness, which time does not seem to heal,
but rather to aggravate. You know the intensity of the attach
ment which existed between dear L. and me, never for a moment
interrupted by the smallest cloud ; an attachment founded, I trust,
in the purest love, and daily strengthening by all the motives^
which the ties of nature, and more especially of religion, furnish.

" I found in dear L. every thing I could wish. Such ardor of
affection, so uniform, so unaffected, I never saw nor read of, but in
her. My fear with regard to the measure of my affection toward
her, was not that I might fail of ' loving her as my own flesh,' but
that I should put her in the place of him who has said, ' Thou
shalt have no other gods but me.' I felt this to be my greatest^
danger, and to be saved from this idolatry was often the subject of
my earnest prayers. If I had desired any 'thing in my dear L. dif
ferent from what she was, it would have been that she had been
less lovely. My whole soul seemed wrapped up in her ; with her was
connected all that I expected of happiness on earth. Is it strange,
then, that I now feel this void, this desolateness, this loneliness,
this heart-sickness ; that I should feel as if my very heart itself had
been torn from me ? To any one but those who knew dear L.,
what I have said might seem to be but the extravagance of an ex
cited imagination ; but to you, who knew the dear object I lament,
all that I have said must but feebly shadow her to your memory."

The death of his Lucretia was the great calamity of Mr.
Morse's early life. Her virtues, her charms of mind and of per-
10

146 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

son are celebrated by those who knew her ; so that we have no
reason to doubt that she was one of the most lovely of women.
The late Prof. Benjamin Silliman, Sr., who knew her well, com
posed the following epitaph, which is now upon her tombstone
in the beautiful cemetery in New Haven :

IN MEMORY OF

LFCRETIA PICKERING,

WIFE OF

SAMUEL F. B. MORSE,

WHO DIED TTH OF FEBRUARY, A. D. 1825,
AGED 25 YEARS.

SHE COMBINED, IN HER CHARACTER AND PERSON,

A RARE ASSEMBLAGE OF EXCELLENCES :

BEAUTIFUL IN FORM, FEATURES, AND EXPRESSION,

PECULIARLY BLAND IN HER MANNERS,

HIGHLY CULTIVATED IN MIND,
SHE IRRESISTIBLY DREW ATTENTION, LOVE,

AND RESPECT ;

DIGNIFIED WITHOUT HAUGHTINESS,
AMIABLE WITHOUT TAMENESS,
FIRM WITHOUT SEVERITY, AND

CHEERFUL WITHOUT LEVITY,

HER UNIFORM SWEETNESS OF TEMPER

SPREAD PERPETUAL SUNSHINE AROUND

EVERY CIRCLE IN WHICH

SHE MOVED.

"WHEN THE EAR HEARD HER IT BLESSED HER,
WHEN THE EYE SAW HER IT GAVE

WITNESS TO HER."

IN SUFFERINGS THE MOST KEEN,

HER SERENITY OF MIND NEVER FAILED HER •

DEATH TO HER HAD NO TERRORS,

THE GRAVE NO GLOOM.

THOUGH SUDDENLY CALLED FROM EARTH,

ETERNITY WAS NO STRANGER TO HER THOUGHTS,

BUT A WELCOME THEME OF

CONTEMPLATION.

RELIGION WAS THE SUN

THAT ILLUMINED EVERY VIRTUE,

AND UNITED ALL IN ONE

BOW OF BEAUTY.

HERS WAS THE RELIGION OF THE GOSPEL ;
* JESUS CHRIST HER FOUNDATION,

THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF HER FAITH.

IN HIM SHE RESTS, IN SURE

EXPECTATION OF A GLORIOUS

RESURRECTION.

More than thirty years after the death of Mrs. Morse a gen
tleman in Boston addressed to Mr. Morse a letter of inquiry

LAFAYETTE'S PORTRAIT. 147

respecting the portrait of General Lafayette, and, in the midst
of his telegraphic success and fame, he returned the following
reply :

" POUGHKEEPSIE, June 11, 1858.

" MY DEAR SIR : In answer to yours of the 8th instant, just re
ceived, I can only say it is so long since I have seen the portrait
I painted of General Lafayette for the city of New York, that,
strange to say, I find it difficult to recall even its general character
istics. That portrait has a melancholy interest for me, for it was
just as I had commenced the second sitting of the General at
"Washington 'that I received the stunning intelligence of Mrs.
Morse's death, and was compelled abruptly to suspend the work.
I preserve, as a gratifying memorial, the letter of condolence and
sympathy sent in to me at the moment by the General, and in
which he speaks in nattering terms of the promise of the portrait
as a likeness. I must be frank, however, in my judgment of my
own works of that day. This portrait was begun under the sad
auspices to which I have alluded, and, up to the close of the work,
I had a series of constant interruptions of the same sad character.
A picture painted under such circumstances can scarcely be ex
pected to do the artist justice, and, as a work of art, I cannot praise
it. Still, it is a good likeness, was very satisfactory to the General,
and he several times alluded to it in my presence in after-years
(when I was a frequent visitor to him in Paris) in terms of praise.

" It is a full-length, standing figure, the size of life. He is repre
sented as standing at the top of a flight of steps, which he has just
ascended upon a terrace, the figure coming against a glowing sun
set sky, indicative of the glory of his own evening of life. Upon
his right, if I remember, are three pedestals, one of which is vacant,
as if waiting for his bust, while the two others are surmounted by
the busts of Washington and Franklin — the two associated eminent
historical characters of his own time. In a vase, on the other side,
is a flower — the heliotrope — with its face toward the sun, in allu
sion to the characteristic, stern, uncompromising consistency of La
fayette — a trait of character which I then considered and still con
sider the great prominent trait of that distinguished man."

Heart-broken, Mr. Morse went on with his work in the city
of ISTew York. His position as an artist was established, and
other men would have been content with the bright prospects
which his profession opened before him. But he was constantly

148 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

aiming at something higher and better for the advancement of
the arts and the honor of his country. April 8, 1825, he writes
to his parents from New York : ^

" I have as much as I can do, but, after being fatigued at night,
and having my thoughts turned to my irreparable loss, I am ready
almost to give up. The thought of seeing my dear Lucretia, and
returning home to her, served always to give me fresh courage and
i spirits whenever I felt worn down by the labors of the day, and now
I hardly know what to substitute in her place. To my friends here
I know I seem to be cheerful and happy, but a cheerful countenance
with me covers an aching heart, and often have I feigned a more
than ordinary cheerfulness to hide a more than ordinary anguish.

" I am blessed with prosperity in my profession. I have just
received another commission, from the corporation of the city, to
paint a common-sized portrait of Rev. Mr. Stanford for them, to be
placed in the almshouse."

May 26, 1825. — "I have at length become comfortably settled,
and begin to feel at home in my new establishment. All things at
present go on smoothly. Brother Charles Walker and Mr. Agate
join with me in breakfast and tea, and we find it best for con
venience, economy, and time, to dine from home — it saves the per
plexity of providing marketing and the care of stores, and, besides,
we think it will be more economical, and the walk will be bene
ficial."

The death of his wife was followed, with no great interval,
by the death of his venerable father. E"o man who has attained
distinguished position in life has been more indebted for early
culture to his parents than Mr. Morse. A clergyman, with no
means of support but such as he derived from his people and
from his literary labors, Dr. Morse had given to his children the
highest advantages of education which the country would afford ;
and, when this son had manifested a desire to pursue art as his
profession, his father, at a great personal sacrifice, gave him the
advantages of education under the best masters in the world in
a foreign country, sustaining him there for successive years,
when it was necessary for him (the father) to exercise great
self-denial in order to command the means to give such advan
tages to his son. These sacrifices were always appreciated and
gratefully acknowledged in the letters which he so frequently

ACADEMY OF DESIGN. 149

wrote to his parents ; and now, when he was continuing his
struggles in New York as an artist, his family were still, in a
great measure, dependent upon his father for their support.

His brothers, Sidney and Richard, established themselves in
New York, in the year 1823. Having founded the New York
Observer, they were now engaged in building it up with great
industry, perseverance, and ability, finally crowned with com
plete success. During its earlier years they were unable to do
more than to sustain themselves and their paper ; and Finley
Morse, the artist, was obliged to look oftentimes to his father
for assistance. Dr. Morse died June 9, 1826, in the city of New
Haven.

" There he had resided during the latter part of his life, in the
midst of a highly-cultivated and Christian community, the leading
members of which, men of world-wide literary and scientific fame,
and of religious sentiments in harmony with his own, were his
daily companions ; while all, of all classes, loved and honored him
for the services he had rendered to his country and to mankind."

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF DESIGN.

Colonel Trumbull, celebrated as one of the earliest and most
successful of American painters, and whose works portray some
of the most important scenes of the American Revolution, was
at this time at the head of the American Academy of Arts, in
the city of New York. His administration was not popular
with the artists who had occasion to study their profession
with the works collected and possessed by the Academy. The
artists complained of being denied facilities which they required
for the successful prosecution of their studies; and especially
that the hours when they could obtain access to the works
which they desired to copy were not convenient for them ;
and that no attention was paid to their remonstrances.

Mr. Dunlap reports that, on one occasion, Messrs. Cum-
mings and Agate (both of whom afterward became distinguished
in their profession) came to the door of the Academy, and, find
ing it closed, were turning away, when he, Mr. Dunlap, spoke
to them, and advised them .to make their complaint to the di
rectors of the Academy. They replied that it would be useless ;
and Mr. Dunlap says : " At that moment one of the directors

150 ^IFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

appeared, coming from Broadway toward . them. I urged the
young gentlemen to speak to him, but they declined, saying,
< they had so often been disappointed, that they gave it up.'
The director came and sat down by the writer, who mentioned
the subject of the recent disappointment, pointing to the two
young men who were still in sight. The conduct of the per
son whose duty it was to open the doors was promptly con
demned by that gentleman ; and, while speaking, the president
appeared, coming to his painting-room, which was one of the
apartments of the Academy. It was unusually early for him,
although near eight o'clock. Before he reached the door, the
curator of the Academy opened it and remained.

" On Mr. Trumbull's arrival, the director mentioned the dis
appointment of the students. The curator stoutly asserted that
' he would open the doors when it suited him.' The president
observed, in reply to the director: 'When I commenced the
study of painting, there were no casts in the country. I was
obliged to do as well as I could.' These young gentlemen
should remember that the gentlemen have gone to a great ex
pense in importing casts, and that they' (the students) 'have no
property in them ; ' concluding with these memorable words, in
the encouragement of the curator's conduct, 'They must re
member that BEGGARS are not to be CHOOSERS.' " Dunlap con
tinues, "We may consider this the condemnatory sentence of the
American Academy of Fine Arts." It was so, as it afterward
appeared.

When these facts came to be known, the indignation of the
artists was general, and a strong desire was expressed that some
measures might be taken to secure for the artists the privileges
of the Academy ; or, if that were not possible, that some new
association should be formed to procure for them the advantages
which they felt to be indispensable to their progress. Mr.
Morse was called on to concentrate these efforts. He invited a
few of the artists to his rooms, and there the propriety of fur
ther endeavors to conciliate the directors by petition was dis
cussed. Mr. Morse suggested that an association might be
formed "for the Promotion of the Arts, and the Assistance
of Students " — simply a union for improvement in drawing.

On the 8th of November, 1825, a meeting of the artists,

DRAWING ASSOCIATION. 151

probably the first ever held in the city, took place in the rooms
of the Historical Society (generously loaned them on that oc
casion), for the purpose of taking into consideration " the for
mation of a Society for Improvement in Drawing." Mr.
Durand was called to the chair, and Mr. Morse was appointed
secretary.

The question of organization was put, and carried unani
mously; and the so-associated artists were thenceforth to be
known as the " New York Drawing Association." Samuel F.
B. Morse was chosen to preside over its meetings. The mem
bers were :

Samuel F. B. Morse, Henry Inman, A. B. Durand, Thomas
S. S. Cummings, Ambrose Andrews, Frederick S. Agate, Wil
liam G. Wall, William Dunlap, James Coyle, Charles C. Wright,
Mosley J. Danforth, Kobert Norris, Edward C. Potter, Albert
Durand, John W. Paradise, Gerlando Marsiglia, Ithiel Town,.
Thomas Grinnell, George W. Hatch, John K. Murray, Jr.,
John JSTeilson, John L. Morton, Henry J. Morton, C. C. Ing-
ham, Thomas Cole, Hugh Keinagle, Peter Maverick, D. W.
Wilson, Alexander G. Davis, John Frazee.

By its few and simple rules it was provided " that its mem
bers should meet in the evenings, three times a week, for draw
ing ; that each member furnish his own drawing-materials ; that
the expense of light, fuel, etc., be paid by equal contributions ;
that new members should be admitted on a majority of votes —
paying five dollars entrance-fee ; that the lamp should be lighted
at six, and extinguished at nine o'clock, p. M." The lamp was a
can, containing about half a gallon of oil, into which was in
serted a wick of some four inches in diameter ; it was set upon
an upright post, about ten feet high. To give sufficient light,
the wick was necessarily considerably out of the oil, and caused
smoke. There was no chimney, and lamp-black was abundant ;
added to that, some forty draftsmen had an oil-lamp each. The
reader may easily imagine the condition of the room !

At a meeting of the New York Drawing Association, held
on the evening of the 14th of January, 1826, Mr. Morse, the
president, stated that he had certain resolutions to offer the
Association, which he would preface with the following re
marks :

152 LIFE OF SAMUEL B. F. MORSE.

" We have this evening assumed a new attitude in the com
munity : our negotiations with the Academy are at an end ; our
union with it has been frustrated, after every proper effort on our
part to accomplish it. The two who were elected as directors from
our ticket have signified their non-acceptance of the office. We
are, therefore, left to organize ourselves on a plan that shall meet
the wishes of us all. A plan of an institution which shall be truly
liberal, which shall be mutually beneficial, which shall really en
courage our respective arts, cannot be devised in a moment; it
ought to be the work of great caution and deliberation, and as
simple as possible in its machinery.

" Time will be required for the purpose. We must hear from
distant countries to obtain their experience, and it must necessarily
be perhaps many months before it can be matured. In the mean
time, however, a preparatory simple organization can be made, and
should be made as soon as possible, to prevent dismemberment,
which may be attempted by out-door influence. On this subject
let us all be on our guard ; let us point to our public documents to
any who ask what we have done, and why we have done it ; while
we go forward, minding only our own concerns, leaving the Acad
emy of Fine Arts as much of our thoughts as they will permit us,
and, bending our attention to our own affairs, act as if no such insti
tution existed.

" One of our dangers at present is division and anarchy, from a
want of organization suited to the present exigency. We are now
composed of artists in the four arts of design, viz., painting, sculpt
ure, architecture, and engraving. Some of us are professional
artists, others amateurs, others students. To the professed and
practical artist belongs the management of all things relating to
schools, premiums, and lectures, so that amateur and student may
be most profited. The amateurs and students are those alone who
can contend for the premiums, while the body of professional artists
exclusively judge of their rights to premiums, and award them. How
shall we first make the separation has been a question which is a
little perplexing. There are none of us who can assume to be the
body of artists without giving offense to others ; and still every
one must perceive that, to organize an Academy, there must be the
distinction between professional artists, amateurs who are students,
and professional students. The first great division should be the
body of professional artists from the amateurs and students consti
tuting the body, who are to manage the entire concerns of the in-

THE NATIONAL ACADEMY. 153

stitution, who shall be its officers, etc. There is a method which
strikes me as obviating the difficulty : place it on the broad princi
ple of the formation of any society — universal suffrage. We are
now a mixed body ; it is necessary for the benefit of all that a
separation into classes be made. Who shall make it ? Why,
obviously the body itself. Let every member of this association
take home with him a list of all the members of it. Let each one
select for himself from the whole list fifteen, whom he would call pro
fessional artists, to be the ticket which he will give in at the next
meeting. These fifteen thus chosen shall elect not less than ten,
nor more than fifteen, professional artists, in or out of the associa
tion, who shall (with the previously- elected fifteen) constitute the
body to be called the National Academy of the Arts of Design.
To these shall be delegated the power to regulate its entire con
cerns, choose its members, select its students, etc. Thus will the
germ be formed to grow up into an institution, which we trust will
be put on such principles as to encourage — not to depress — the
arts. When this is done, our body will be no longer the Drawing
Association, but the National Academy of the Arts of Design, still
including all the present association, but in different capacities.

" One word as to the name ' National Academy of the Arts of
Design.' Any less name than National would be taking one below
the American Academy, and therefore is not desirable. If we
were simply the Associated Artists, their name would swallow us
up ; therefore, National seems a proper one as to the arts of de
sign : these are painting, sculpture, architecture, and engraving,
while the fine arts include poetry, music, landscape gardening, and
the histrionic arts. Our name, therefore, expresses the entire char-
action of our institution, and that only."

This arrangement was unanimously adopted, and a list of
the members of the association was immediately furnished to
each member, who, from it, was requested to select, by the next
meeting, fifteen professional artists to form his ticket, the fif
teen " having the highest number of votes to constitute a i Body
of Artists,' who shall, before Wednesday evening next, elect
not less than ten nor more than fifteen others, from professional
artists resident in the city of New York, the whole body thus
chosen to be called the < National Academy of the Arts of De
sign.' ': And, by resolution, those remaining in the association
after such election, and wishing to belong to the new institu-

154 LIFE OF SAMUEL P. B. MOUSE.

tion, were to be declared students of the new institution, and a
certificate of membership to be given to them.

On the 15th of January, 1826, in conformity with the resolution,
the association proceeded to ballot. Whereupon the following gen
tlemen were chosen : S. F. B. Morse, Henry Inman, A. B. Durand,
John Frazee, William Wall, Charles C. Ingham, William Dunlap,
Peter Maverick, Ithiel Town, Thomas S. Cummings, Edward Potter,
Charles C. Wright, Mosley J. Danforth, Hugh Reinagle, Gerlando
Marsiglia.

And between the 15th and the 18th of the month the above-
named artists assembled for the performance of their part of
the task ; for, on the 18th of January, 1826, the president stated
that "the professional artists chosen at the last meeting of the
association had balloted for ten professional artists on one ticket,
and five subsequently on separate tickets, and that the following
gentlemen were those elected : Samuel Waldo, William Jewett,
John W. Paradise, Frederick S. Agate, Rembrandt Peale, James
Coyle, Nathaniel Rogers, J. Parisen, William Main, John Evers,
Martin E. Thompson, Thomas Cole, John Yanderlyn (who declined),
Alexander Anderson, D. W. Wilson. By this method was formed
the National Academy of the Arts of Design. Samuel F. B. Morse
and John L. Morton were chosen to act as president and secretary
until the adoption of a constitution.

The National Academy of Design, thus ushered into the world,
was composed of members and professional artists, and thus divided
in the four arts of design :

In painting : Samuel F. B. Morse, Henry Inman, Thomas S.
Cummings, William Dunlap, Rembrandt Peale, Charles C. Ingham,
Thomas Cole, John Evers, Signor Marsiglia, Frederick S. Agate,
Edward C. Potter, Hugh Reinagle, James Coyle, D. W. Wilson, J.
Parisen, John W. Paradise, Nathaniel Rogers, William Wall. In
sculpture : John Frazee. In architecture : Ithiel Town, Martin E.
Thompson. In engraving : A. B. Durand, William Main, Mosley
J. Danforth, Peter Maverick, Charles C. Wright.

The following were students in the Antique School of the first
grade : John L. Morton, amateur ; Henry J. Morton, amateur ; John
J. Neilson, amateur ; George W. Hatch, Thomas Grinnell, Ambrose
Andrews, Robert Norris, Albert Durand, John W. Paradise, Alex
ander G. Davis, John R. Murray, Jr.

Mr. Morse was requested to prepare a short address to the

THE SKETCH CLUB. 155

public, setting forth the views and general intentions of the in
stitution, from which the following is an extract :

" An institution with this name has recently been organized by
the artists of this city, founded on principles which, it is believed,
will elevate the character and condition of the arts of design in our
country.

" The want of such an institution has long been felt by those
interested in the advancement of the liberal arts, especially by
artists themselves; and to its establishment, accordingly, almost
the whole body of the profession in this city have concentrated
their efforts.

" The National Academy of the Arts of Design is founded on
the common-sense principle that every profession in society knows
best what measures are necessary for its own improvement. Its
success is no more problematical than the success of many societies
that might be named where the members are exclusively of one
profession. To others shall be left the discussion of the question
whether the common method of raising funds for the support of
institutions for the encouragement of literature and the arts, by
connecting a large body of stockholders with them, be on the whole
advisable or not.

" It may be observed, however, that the little experience had on
this subject does not seem favorable to such a mode of procedure.
In the permanent formation of this institution a DIFFERENT COURSE
.WILL BE PURSUED — a course sanctioned by the experience of acad
emies of arts in Europe, especially the Royal Academy of London."

Almost coeval with the National Academy, was founded the
« Sketch Club "— " ' The OW Slcetch Club: "

" The second exhibition of the National Academy was held in
the room over Tylee's Baths, in Chambers Street. After the exhi
bition the room was fitted up with plaster casts and drawing-boards,
and there the students of the Antique School met to receive instruc
tion from the founders of the Academy. One night the teachers
were as usual assembled. Previous to the opening of the school,
seated in a corner, were Morse, Durand, Cummings, and Ingham.
The subject of conversation was the recent breaking up of that
most agreeable club, the c Lunch.' Mr. Ingham remarked that now
there was an opportunity for the artists to establish a club. All
agreed that such a thing was feasible. Mr. Ingham proposed that
those present should consider themselves the nucleus of one, which,

156 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

when established, should be called the Sketch Club — to consist of
artists, authors, men of science, and lovers of art ; and that Morse
should be the first president. Mr. Morse highly approved of the
idea, but declined being the president, saying that it was enough
for him to be president of the Academy ; that the person best enti
tled to the honor of being president of the proposed association
was Mr. Ingham, who had originated the scheme. Mr. Cummings
coincided, and, after some further conversation on the rules to be
adopted, it was agreed to postpone the further consideration of the
subject to Wednesday in the following week, and that a meeting
should be called at Mr. Ingham's. A meeting of the principal
artists was held there, and the rules of the proposed club discussed
and adopted.

" The plan had been for the members to meet at an hotel, to be
entertained at the cost of the host of the evening. This arrange
ment was supposed to have caused a rivalry in expense, which led
to the breaking up of the club. To avoid a like result, the artists
determined to have their club as inexpensive as possible ; and, to
attain this end, it was agreed that the ' Sketch Club ' should meet
at the houses of the members, in rotation, and that the entertain
ment should be confined to dried fruit, crackers, milk, and honey.
Mr. Ingham was elected president, and Mr. John Inman secretary.

" The first regular meeting took place at the rooms of Thomas
Cole. It was a decided success. All the members exerted them
selves to please, and every thing1 was agreeable — even the figs,
milk, and honey. But on the day after the feast, came the pangs'
of repentance, and many a vow was made that the refreshments of
the club should be changed. . . .

" It may be regretted that its early minutes, witticisms, essays,
drawings, verses, papers, etc., have been neglected or destroyed.
Not a vestige to be found of that, one of the oldest and most inter
esting of clubs. It was formed for the promotion of mutual inter
course and improvement in impromptu sketching. Drawing for one
hour from a subject proposed by the host, whose property the draw
ings remained, was part of the programme positive ; the poets and
others frequently amusing themselves during that hour by passing
round a subject, on which each, in turn, furnished four lines — no
more, no less ; and some truly amusing mongrels were the result.
Its members comprised, in a high degree, the talent of the country.
In its organization over-great care had been taken to guard against
destruction by extravagance in its entertainments in eating, and

BILL OF FARE. 157

4 milk and honey, raisins, apples, and crackers ' were the limitation,
the prescribed bill-of-fare. The medicinal qualities of the one were
appreciated on the first dose, and the dryness of the other was not
relished.

" ' The rule ' was more observed in the breach than in the
observance. The first great outbreak, however, occurred at Mem
ber J s H 's, at his then up-town residence, viz., east side

Broadway, between Broome and Spring Streets. On that evening,
at the appointed, hour for refreshments, the drawing-room doors
were thrown open, and an elegant supper appeared before the
astonished guests. A general revolt took place. Protests were
entered, remonstrances made ; a compromise finally, or, it rather
should be said, speedily ensued. It was decided that the supper
should be eaten, but that it should be done ' standing?

" ' Sitting down to supper,' it was said, was prohibited by ' the
rules? The distinction was a very nice one ; so was the supper.

" Members did not long ' stand out ; ' chairs were in demand,
and in less than fifteen minutes the whole were as comfortably
seated as if no such prohibition had ever in the rules existed, and
looked as innocently unconscious as if nothing had occurred con
trary thereto. More ample justice could not have been done to a
feast. Milk and honey never again appeared at the festive board.
Many, very many happy meetings had that CLUB."

In 1873, almost half a century from this date, a reunion of
the old Sketch Club was held at the house of Jonathan Sturgis,
Esq., and a splendid entertainment in defiance of all the
" rules " was given by the liberal and hospitable host. Only two
of the original members were present, Cummings and Durand.
Morse, the founder and president, Lad been laid with the dead
but a few months before.

During the years from -1826 to 1829, Mr. Morse resided in
the city of New York, pursuing, with great industry, his pro
fession as a painter; but oftentimes discouraged to the very-
last degree, by a want of success commensurate with his am
bition. Poverty, so often the lot of men of genius and of
the highest desert, pressed him continually; preparing him,
doubtless, for the still greater hardships which lie was to pass
through. Still struggling to accomplish the great work for
which he was trained, he was now both a teacher and a pupil.
A large part of his time was necessarily given to the Acad-

158 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

emy of Design, over which he was called to preside, by reelec
tion, from year to year, from its origin down to the year 1845,
and he would have been continued in the presidency during
the whole of his protracted life, had he not considered it essen
tial to the interests of the institution that he should retire from
it after he became absorbed in the scientific pursuits which his
invention of the Telegraph required. The industry with which
he pursued his profession may be inferred from the catalogue of
some of the principal paintings which were exhibited in the an
nual expositions of the Academy of Design. But, in addition to
these, he painted a great number of portraits and other pictures
which were never placed on public exhibition. This catalogue,
prepared by General T. S. Cummings (whose history of the Na
tional Academy of Design has furnished the facts in regard to
Mr. Morse's connection with that institution), is worthy of being
preserved.

Ichabod Crane discovers the Headless Horseman, S. H. . 1826

A family picture ....... 1826

Portrait of the late Mayor W. Paulding . . . 1826

Portrait of Rev. Dr. Stanford. New York Corporation . . 1826

Portrait of De Witt Clinton, Governor State of New York . 1826

Full-length portrait of General Lafayette. New York Corporation 1827
Portrait of Judge Mitchell, Connecticut . . . .1827

House of Representatives in the Capitol : 88 portraits . . 1827

Una and the Dwarf. Relating adventure of the Red Cross Knight. 1828
Portrait of Fitz-Greene Halleck . . . . .1828

Portrait of F. G. King, Professor of Anatomy, 1ST. A. D., and his

academician picture . . . . . . 1828

View of Cazenovia Lake . . . . • . 1828

View of Parapet Falls, at Trenton Falls .... 1828

Portrait of William Cullen Bryant ..... 1829

Landscape Figures ...... 1830

Review Exhibition (Rome) . . . . . .1831

Portrait of the late Thomas Addis Emmet . . . 1831
Portrait of Thorwalsden . . . . . .1832

Amain, from the Grotto of the Capuchin Convent . . 1833

The Wetterhorn and Falls of the Reichenbach . . . 1833

The Brigand alarmed ...... 1833

Pifferari, or Calabrian Minstrels ..... 1833

Full-length portrait of a lady . . . . . 1834

The Gold-Fish, etc. A family group . . . . 1835

Portrait of Major-General Stark- . . . . . 1835

Portrait of Rev. Dr. Sprague, of Albany .... 1835

GENERAL CUMMIXGS'S LETTER. 159

Portrait of Rev. Dr. Nott, of Connecticut . . . 1835

Portrait of Euchee Billy. A sketch of an Indian chief taken in

1820. (New York University) . . . . 1836

Portrait of Dr. Augustus Smith ..... 1836

Landscape Composition. Helicon and Aganippe . . 1836

Sunset View of St. Peter's, Rome . . . . .1836

Full-length portrait of a young lady. (New York University) . 1837

Nothing exhibited ...... 1838-1863

In the second winter exhibition was exhibited Mr. Morse's Interior of the House
of Representatives.

General Ciimmings, who has retired from the city (where
he held high rank as an artist and teacher of art) to the repose
of rural life, has kindly furnished the following sketch of Mr.
Morse's professional life in New York, and an estimate of his
ability :

"MANSFIELD CENTRE, TOLLAND COUNTY, CONN., April 21, 1873.

" My acquaintance with Mr. Morse commenced in the fall of
1824 or spring of 1825, and continued until his decease. It opened
immediately on the meeting of the artists after the rudeness I had
received at the American Academy of Fine Arts, as described by
Dunlap and by myself in my 'Records of the National Academy of
Design.' In the controversy which followed, Mr. Morse took a very
deep and leading interest, the full particulars of which are given in
the Annals. Ultimately, and on the formation of the National
Academy of Design, he became its president, and so continued for
years, namely, from 1827 to 1845, and, at my especial invitation
and request, to serve the interests of the institution, from 1861 to
1862, and, I may add, was beloved by all.

" At the time of our first acquaintance Mr. Morse was in the en
joyment of lucrative and prosperous practice, as a portrait-painter,
in the city. His studio was crowded with works in progress, and
the demands on his pencil unceasing from the talent, wealth, and
fashion of the city, daily refusing commissions, and sending the ap
plicants to other artists for execution. As a portrait-painter Mr.
Morse was very unequal ; yet many of his works there are which
will stand favorable competition with the best produced to the
present day, and none more preeminently so that I can at present
call to mind than the portrait of the Rev. Dr. Stanford — a half-
length, now on the possession of the Commissioners of Charities,
in the public building in Third Avenue, in the neighborhood of
Twentieth Street. Mr. Morse's connection with the Academy was

160 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

doubtless unfavorable in a pecuniary point of view. His interest
in it interfering with professional practice, and the time taken to
enable him to prepare his course of lectures, materially contributed
to favor a distribution of his labors in art to other hands, and it
never fully returned to him. His ' Discourse on Academies of Art,'
delivered in the chapel of Columbia College, May, 1827, will long
stand as a monument of his ability in the line of art-literature. As
an historical painter Mr. Morse, after Allston, was probably the
best-prepared and most fully-educated artist of his day, and should
have received the attention of the Government, and a share of its
distributions in art - commissions. There political influence was
brought to bear against him ; and, on the selection of the artists to
fill the four panels in the Rotunda in the Capitol, Mr. Morse was
found to be not one of the number. That was to him a source of
great unhappiness and professional disappointment. The ' Signing
of the First Compact by the Pilgrims on board the May Flower '
had always been his favorite subject, and he had spent years of
thought on the then leading subject of his heart. Hence the rea
sons especially for the artists coming to his rescue, to employ him
to paint an historical picture. That picture, it was hoped, might
occupy one of the panels in the Rotunda ; and, had it been painted,
it probably would have done so. Certain it is, the artist contribu
tors never intended to take it from Mr. Morse."

A brilliant assembly was gathered in the chapel of Colum
bia College, May 3, 1827. The college was then in what is now
the lower part of the city, in College Place, below the City
Hall. The occasion that had called together the most cultivated
and refined ladies and gentlemen, was the first anniversary of
the National Academy of Design, and the president, Samuel F.
B. Morse, delivered an address which was published in pamphlet
form, at the request of the Academy, through a committee, con
sisting of Dunlap, • Ingham, and Wright. The address is re
markable for the extent of learning it displays, and the ripe
thought of the author.

The Academy being in its infancy, and some eminent artists
being hostile to its establishment and its plans, this address of
Mr. Morse was honored by a severe review in the North Amer
ican, which had then reached its fifty-eighth number, and had
justly acquired a national reputation. It was contended by the

LORD LYNDHURST'S LETTER. 161

reviewer tliat the new Academy was presumptuous in assuming
the title of " National," as it had no claim to national recogni
tion, or to the countenance of the artists of the whole country.
To this attack Mr. Morse replied with great ability in a paper
first published in the Journal of Commerce, and afterward in
pamphlet form.

The reply revealed the lofty spirit of independence and the
high sense of the dignity of his profession, which then con
trolled the purposes of the president of the Academy. Mr.
Morse sent a copy of his address to Lord Lyndhurst, son of the
celebrated painter Copley, and to some inquiries in his letter re
ceived the following reply :

" GEORGE STREET (LONDON), December 28, 1827.

" DEAR SIR : I beg you will accept my best thanks for your dis
course delivered before the National Academy at New York, which
has been handed to me by Mr. "Ward. The tenor of my father's
life was so uniform as to afford fine materials for the biographer.
He was entirely devoted to his art, which he pursued with unremit
ting assiduity to the last hour of his life. The result is before the
public, in his works, which must speak for themselves ; and consider
ing that he was entirely self-taught, and never saw a decent pict
ure, with the exception of his own, until he was nearly thirty years
of age, the circumstance is, 1 think, worthy of admiration, and
affords a striking proof of what natural genius, aided by determined
perseverance, can under almost any circumstances accomplish.
" I remain, dear sir, your faithful servant,

" LYKDHURST."

STUDY OF ELECTRO-MAGNETISM.

We now leave Mr. Morse's artistic pursuits for the present,
and find him once more a student of science, and of that depart
ment which had particularly interested him while in college
under Professors Day and Silliman.

In the year 1827 Mr. Morse became interested in the study
of electricity, and particularly in electro-magnetism. At that
time he was intimately associated with James Freeman Dana,
of Columbia College, who delivered a course of lectures on the
subject, before the New York Athenaeum. Mr. Morse attended
these lectures, and the lecturer was in the habit of frequently
visiting him at his studio, where subjects of mutual interest
11

162 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

were freely discussed. Professor Dana was an enthusiast in the
science of electro-magnetism, and his wife relates that it so pos
sessed his mind that she frequently heard him talk of it in his
sleep. Subsequently, when it became important for Mr. Morse to
establish by positive evidence the simple fact that he was taught
by Professor Dana at this time, that promising scholar was dead.
His wife survived him, and, on being applied to for her recol
lections, she testified as follows :

Deposition of Matilda W. Dana, of Boston, in the State of Mas
sachusetts, taken at the Office of George 8. Hillard.

" I am the widow of Professor James Freeman Dana ; my hus
band and myself resided in the city of New York in the years 1826-
1827 ; my husband died on the 15th day of April, 1827, in the city
of New York. In the year 1827 he delivered a course of lectures
upon the subject of electro-magnetism, and also upon the subject
of electricity, before the New York Athenaeum, in the chapel of
Columbia College. I attended several of these lectures ; his mind
was most intensely interested in the subject of electro-magnetism
— so much so, indeed, that I frequently heard him talk of it in his
sleep. I know that my husband, in the years 1826-1827, and up to
the time of his death, was on terms of intimacy with Professor
Samuel F. B. Morse, and was in the habit of frequently visiting in
Professor Morse's painting-room, which, at that time, was at the
corner of Broadway and Pine Street, in the city of New York. I
have a distinct recollection of visiting Professor Morse's room in
1827, in company with my husband, and of examining some of Pro
fessor Morse's paintings. My husband had a very keen perception
of the beautiful, and was a great admirer of the fine arts, and took
particular delight and interest in the art in which Professor Morse
was at that time engaged. I have no doubt that this circumstance
led him to cultivate an intimacy and friendship with Professor
Morse, and I know that such intimacy and friendship did exist up
to the time of my husband's death. I frequently heard my husband
speak of his having been on visits to Professor Morse's rooms, and
he frequently told me he had been on such visits. From what he
said to me, and from what I saw, I know that he must have spent
much time at Professor Morse's rooms. I frequently heard him
speak of Professor Morse's pictures ; there was one I know, he
much admired, that was the picture entitled c Una, the Dwarf, and

MRS. DANA'S TESTIMONY. 163

Arthur,' from Spenser's ' Faerie Queene.' My husband took me with
him to Professor Morse's room, to see that picture, and I recollect
seeing it at his room, and it was much admired both by me and by
my husband ; and my husband was so much interested at that time
w-ith electro-magnetism, that it was a favorite theme in his conver
sations with all his associates and friends. He was in the habit
of dwelling much upon it, and of explaining to his friends the
results of his experiments in that science. From the terms of inti
macy existing between him and Professor Morse, I can scarcely con
ceive it possible that he and Professor Morse should not have had
frequent and repeated conversations on the subject of electro-mag
netism. I knew that my husband at that time was in the constant
habit of stating to his friends and associates his views of that
wonderful science, which then was regarded as, in a great measure,
new in this country, and little understood. He was unusually frank
and communicative in his social intercourse with his friends ; that
was a distinguishing trait in his character. He seemed anxious to
induce, in the minds of others, an interest in the science of electro-
magnetism, as he entertained the idea that, ultimately, it would be
an instrument of wonderful and highly-beneficial results to the
world, when it should be more fully understood, its principles devel
oped and applied to practical purposes. On the death of my hus
band I received from Professor Morse a very kind note of condo
lence, to which I have often recurred with grateful remembrance,
as a token of kind regard from an intimate friend and associate of
my deceased husband. I have often spoken of it, and shown it to
my daughter, as coming from an intimate friend of her father. I
cannot now state positively that I saw Professor Morse at these
lectures before the Athenasum ; but from the intimacy that existed
between them, and the professional relations to each other, I have
no doubt that he did attend those lectures. I should have thought
it very singular if he had not, and presume that his absence would
have been a subject of remark if he were absent. I recollect Pro
fessor Morse at that time delivered lectures before the Athenaeum
upon the fine arts, and that my husband and myself attended them.
I am very sure that Professor Morse, in his letter of condolence,
expressed the pleasure he had had in attending rny husband's lect
ures. And I further depose and say that the two papers now pro
duced and made an exhibit in this cause, and upon ' the first page
of which I have written my name, and the date of taking of this
deposition — one headed * 1st, 2d. On Electro-Magnetism before

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

the New York Athenaeum ; ' the other headed ' 2d, 3d, 4th. On
Electro-Magnetism, before the New York Athenaeum'— are the ori
ginal lectures delivered by my husband James Freeman Dana, be
fore the New York Athenaeum, in the year 1827 ; that said original
lectures and the drawings therein, as well as the heading to each,
above quoted, are in the handwriting of my said husband, and
the same have been in my possession since the death of my said
husband ; and that my husband, at the time of the delivery, exhib
ited to his audience various experiments with an electro-magnet,
illustrative of the subject-matter of said lectures, and then had and
exhibited to his audience an electro-magnet in a horseshoe form.
After his death that identical magnet was sold to his successor,
Professor John Torrey. Since the funeral of my husband I have
not seen Mr. Morse, until the 19th of September, instant. He
then, before seeing said lectures, or before I told him what they
contained, stated to me several of the experiments which were
exhibited by my husband at the time he delivered the same before
the Athenagum.

(Signed) "MATILDA W. DANA.

" Sworn to before me, the 24th day of September, A. D. 1849.

"GEORGE S. HILLARD,
" Commissioner, etc., etc., etc."

The first words that fell from the lips of Professor Dana in
his course of lectures, and which reached the ear of Mr. Morse,
were these, and the last lines of the first paragraph have wonder
ful significance in connection with the results :

" The discovery of the voltaic pile by the illustrious philosopher
whose name the instrument bears, is emphatically the most impor
tant discovery of the age. It will ever render memorable in the
annals of science the first year of the present century. Its influ
ence on the progress of philosophy has been viewed with astonish
ment, even by the most ardent and sanguine imaginations. It has
multiplied discoveries with a rapidity and to an extent without par
allel in the history of physics. It has given to us new powers over
the material world, and has presented us with new substances pos
sessing almost magical properties. The tide of discovery has rolled
over us like a flood, and yet new results are daily offered, and new
relations and connections of its influence are hourly developed.

" The year 1819 witnessed the discovery, by means of the voltaic

PROFESSOR DANA'S LECTURES. 165

apparatus, of a mysterious connection between the electric power
and the magnetic influence, which has afforded phenomena of a most
engaging and unexpected nature ; has presented experiments and
results which have been witnessed but with admiration, and laid
the foundation upon which a new science, electro-magnetism, has
been erected.

" The principles of this new science have been subjected to a
rigorous mathematical analysis, which place them on a basis no less
firm than that of the theory of gravitation, and gives them a charm
which renders the subject highly attractive from the perfect coinci
dence of geometrical deductions with physical facts ; but, divesting
them of mathematical considerations, I shall attempt, in a popular
manner, to elucidate the laws of electro-magnetism, by experiments,
in the lectures which I have the honor this season to offer to the
Athenaeum."

And lie closed the lecture by saying :

" Conductors of electricity receive and transmit the electric in
fluence instantly to every part of their substance ; metals, alloys,
well-burnt charcoal : non-conductors receive the influence only at
the point of contact, but do not transmit it ; glass, resin, silk, etc.
There are many bodies which hold an intermediate station be
tween conductors and non-conductors; they are called imperfect
conductors.

" When a connection is made between the positive and nega
tive poles of a voltaic apparatus by means of conductors, the bat-
/tery is discharged ; the electric tension is destroyed; that is, the
instruments which indicate the presence of electricity cease to be
affected. But the apparatus possesses within itself the power of
renewing its first state of electric tension in imperceptible intervals
of time, and consequently the connecting substance between the
two poles is continually performing the same office during its whole
time of contact that it did at the first moment. While the connect
ing wire is performing this function, it is evident that it must be in
a state different from that in which it exists when separated from the
instrument. Now, since a small wire may be employed to dis
charge a powerful apparatus, it follows that the principle which is
active in it is condensed and concentrated into a very small space.
A wire, while it is performing this function, we shall call the con
junctive wire.

" In the hypothetical language of electricians, a current of elec-

166 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

tricity flows through the conjunctive wire, but whether a material
substance be conceived to pass through the wire or not, it certainly
suffers some peculiar changes, and acquires some peculiar proper
ties which it retains while it is made the medium of communication
between the poles of the voltaic instruments in a state of activity.
If the wire be small, it is heated, and it produces effects on the
magnetic needle which are constant and invariable."

In his second lecture Professor Dana said :

" The effect of the conjunctive wire in impressing the magnetic
state is uniform and constant, and we can infer with absolute cer
tainty the kind of magnetism which will be exhibited by either end
of a needle, by reference to its position with regard to the wire.
We are led to this by our previous knowledge of the positions
assumed by a magnetic needle under the influence of the wire.
Thus, if the electric current flow from the right hand to the left,
and the needle to be magnetized be placed over the wire, the end
pointing from us will acquire the austral magnetism, or a north
polarity, etc. We have seen that the pole of the magnetic needle,
over which the positive electricity enters, turns to the east, but the
pole under which it enters, turns to the west. If, therefore, a
needle be placed between two conjunctive wires situated in the
same vertical plane, and transmitting the electric current in oppo
site directions, it is evident that both will conspire to produce the
same effect, which will, consequently, be much more considerable
than that produced by either of them alone ; but a wire bent so as
to have its ends connected with the opposite poles of the voltaic
instrument, will evidently have the electric current passing in op
posite directions in its upper and lower portions, and consequently
it will produce on a needle between them an effect similar to that
produced by the two wires. Wires thus situated produce a more
prompt development of magnetism in steel than a single wire does,
because both tend to turn the same kind of magnetism in the same
direction, and the opposite magnetisms in opposite directions, and
hence we have one method of measuring the action of a battery on
steel bars. Again, two parallel wires, having the electric current
moving through them, in the same direction, will evidently pro
duce a greater effect on a steel bar than either of them alone, for
the effect of the whole must be greater than that of a part.

" Where several conjunctive wires are placed together, side by
side, the power is apparently diminished in the central wires, and

THE HORSESHOE MAGNET. 167

concentrated in the extreme portion ; the magnetic state of the lat
ter seems to be augmented by induction or by position.

" When such an assemblage of wires acts on the magnetism of
a piece of steel, they decompose it, and each individual wire acts
with most force on the magnetism nearest to it. Each conspires in
its action to produce the same effect as the others ; and hence, in
addition to the effects of currents in opposite directions, we have
another method of increasing the power of a battery in magnetizing
needles. We shall probably render steel strongly magnetic, if we
combine these two methods of increasing the effect. This is
effected by forming the conjunctive wire into a spiral around the
steel bar to be magnetized ; for, at the opposite extremities of any
diameter of this spiral, it is evident that the electric current moves
in opposite directions. Suppose the spiral to be placed horizontally,
east and west, the current on its upper part to move from north to
south, it will at its lower part move from south to north ; and the
spiral thus gives us the combined influence of currents in opposite
directions. Moreover, the different coils of the spiral are nearly at
right angles with the axis of the included bar • and they are paral
lel to each other. Hence, at any given portion of the bar the effect
of many currents passing in the same direction is produced, and
the included bar becomes strongly magnetic • and a spiral placed
round a piece of soft iron bent into the form of a horseshoe mag-
netj renders it strongly and powerfully magnetic when the elec
tric current is passing through it." . . . [And this, be it remem
bered, was said in 1827.] "The opposite sides of a conjunctive
wire exhibit the opposite magnetisms ; and we have seen that, by
placing the wires parallel to each other, and connecting them with
a battery so that they may transmit the current in the same di
rection, the magnetisms seem to be concentrated in the extreme
wires, and that we can thus separate them in a degree from each
other. Now, when we consider that the direction of the magnetic
power is at right angles to the conjunctive wire it is evident that in
a helix this direction must nearly coincide with that of the axis of
the helix, and the one kind of magnetism be found concentrated at
one extremity, and the other kind at the opposite end. . . . Iron
filings adhering to dissimilarly electro-magnetic wires, repel each
other ; and to similarly electro-magnetic wires, attract each other.

" In the course of our reasoning, by which we were led from
step to step to the adoption of a spiral or helix in powerfully de
veloping magnetism in bars, we inferred that two or more parallel

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

and similarly electro-magnetic wires acted with greater energy than
one, and that the magnetisms were accumulated in the extreme
wires by a species of induction between them all. A ribbon of
metal substituted for these wires exerts a stronger influence on the
needle at its edges than at its sides, for a similar reason. So, also,
if a series of concentric wires be used, and the electric current
sent through them in the same direction, we infer that they will
have the power of the corresponding sides of the different rings con
centrated and accumulated in their common centre, and will, on the
same side of their centre, act as parallel similarly electro-magnetic
wires. A flat spiral or volute, having two ends connected with the
opposite poles of a battery, will correctly represent concentric rings
under the condition we have proposed ; and the great quantity of
iron filings which such a spiral or volute takes up, and the accumu
lation of them in the centre, fully evinces the concentration of
power there, and the correctness of the reasoning by which we
have been led to this modification of the conjunctive wire."

This was the second step which. Morse took toward the great
invention. The first was in Yale College. The second .was
under a professor of Columbia College.

He learned from Professor Dana, in 1827, the elementary
facts that lie at the basis of the electro-magnet, to wit.:

The effect of a single straight conjunctive wire in producing
magnetism. (Oersted's discovery.)

The effect of a conjunctive wire, bent into the form of a ring,
for the purpose of increasing the magnetism. (Schweigger's ex
periment.)

The effect of a series of these conjunctive wire rings, forming
a spiral, for the purpose of increasing still further the magnet
ism. (Arago's experiment, at the suggestion of Ampere.)

The effect of a flat spiral or volute, the conjunctive wire
superposed upon itself, for still further increasing the magnetism.
Schweigger discovered the principle of this modification, and
embodied it in Ms multiplier, while Dana applied it to the mag
netizing of iron filings in demonstrating its magnetic power, and
suggested it for the electro-magnet.

He learned from Professor Dana, in 1827, the rationale of
the electro-magnet, which latter was exhibited in action. He
witnessed the effects of the conjunctive wire in the different

TRIBUTE TO PROFESSOR DANA. 169

forms described by him in his lectures, and exhibited to his audi
ence. The electro-magnet was put in action by an intensity l)atr
tery ; it was made to sustain the weight of its armature, when
the conjunctive wire was connected with the poles of the battery
or the circuit was closed / and it was made " to drop its load"
upon opening the circuit. These, with many other principles of
electro-magnetism, were all illustrated, experimentally, to his
audience. Mr. Morse afterward, in writing on the subject, pays
a noble tribute to his teacher, Professor Dana, of whom he said :

" The volute modification of the helix, to show the concentration
of magnetism at its centre, adapted to the electro-magnet, the modi
fication since universally adopted in the construction of the elec
tro-magnet^ is justly due, I think, to the inventive mind of Professor
James Freeman Dana. Death, in striking him down at the thresh
old of his fame, not only extinguished a brilliant light in science,
one which gave the highest promise of future distinction, but, by
the suddenness of the stroke, put to peril the just credit due to him
for discoveries he had already made. Dana had not only mastered
all of the science of electro-magnetism then given to the world — a
science in which he was an enthusiast ; but, standing on the confines
that separate the known from the unknown, was, at the time of his
decease, preparing for new explorations and new discoveries. I
could not mention his name, in this connection, without at least ren
dering this slight but inadequate homage to one of the most liberal
of men and amiable of friends, as well as promising philosophers of
his age. Dana, in 1827, publicly exhibited the electro-magnet, with
its spiral conjunctive wire. He also exhibited, at the same time,
and directly in the same connection with the electro-magnet, the 'flat
spiral,' or ' volute modification of the conjunctive wire ; ' showing
its increased power over the single spiral, demonstrating this effect
with iron filings, and directly suggesting its application to the soft-
iron horseshoe bar."

The year following Mr. Morse devoted to his profession, in
which he was now eminently successful. His sitters were so
numerous that he was unable to meet the demands of all who
sought him, and his brother artists remember with gratitude his
kindness in sending to them many persons whom he could not
find time to paint.

He employed his evenings in preparing a series of lectures

170 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

on " The Fine Arts," which he delivered before the New York
Athenaeum. This is said to have been the first series of lectures
on the subject ever delivered in the United States. "Writing to
his mother, March 1st, he says : " My lectures at the Athenaeum
closed on Thursday evening to a t most fashionable and crowded
house,' as the phrase is." Visiting his relatives at Utica, in the
summer, he wrote to his brother :

" In coming from Whitesboro', on Friday, I met with an accident,
and a most narrow escape with my life : the horse which had been
tackled into the wagon was a vicious horse, and had several times
run away, to the danger of Mr. Dexter's life and others of the fam
ily. I was not aware of this, or I should not have consented to go
with him, much less to drive him myself. I was alone in the wagon,
with my baggage, and the horse went very well for about a mile ;
when he gradually quickened his pace, and then set out, in spite of
all check, on the full run. I kept him in the road, determined to let
him run himself tired, as the only safe alternative ; but, just as I
came in sight of a piece of the road which had been concealed by
an angle, there was a heavy wagon, which I must meet so soon that,
in order to avoid it, I must give it the whole road ; this being very
narrow, and the ditches and banks on each side very rough, I in
stantly made up my mind to a serious accident. As well as the
velocity of the horse would allow me, however, I kept him on the
side, rough as it was, for about a quarter of a mile pretty steadily,
expecting, however, to be upset every minute, when all at once I
saw before me an abrupt, narrow, deep gully, into which the wheels
on one side were just upon the point of going down, when it
flashed across me in an instant that if I could throw the horse down
into the ditch, the wheels of the wagon might perhaps rest equi
poised on each side, and perhaps break the horse loose from the
wagon. I pulled the rein and accomplished the object in part ; the
sudden plunge of the horse into the gully broke him loose from
the wagon, but it at the same time turned one of the fore-wheels
into the gully, which upset the wagon, and threw me forward at the
moment when the horse threw up his neck, just taking off my hat,
and leaving me in the bottom of the gully. I fell on my left shoul
der, and, although muddied from head to foot, I escaped without
any injury whatever ; I was not even jarred painfully. I found my
shoulder a little bruised, my wrist very slightly scratched, and yes
terday was a little, and but very little, stiffened in my limbs, and to-

ESCAPE FROM DEATH. 171

day have not the slightest feeling of bruise about me, but think I
feel better than I have for a long time. Indeed, my health is en
tirely restored ; the riding and country air have been the means of
restoring me. I have great cause of thankfulness for so much
mercy, and for such special preserving care."

Returning to the city of New York, his children being scat
tered among his relatives in different parts of the country, Mr.
Morse resumed his labors. Business increased. The most emi
nent citizens became his personal friends and gave him commis
sions. Success, however, served only to stimulate him to higher
efforts ; and he resolved that he would seek, by study in Italy,
to perfect himself in the art to which lie had now fully devoted
his life.

CHAPTEK YL

1829-1832.

COMMISSIONS TO PAINT IN ITALY — JOURNEY TO EOME LETTEE TO HIS

COUSIN — ENGLAND PARIS — AVIGNON MARSEILLES — NICE —THE COR
NICE ROAD — GENEVA — PISA — ROME — THE VATICAN — GALLERIES OF ART

NOTES — THOEWALDSEN — PORTRAIT — JAMES FENIMOEE COOPER H.

GEEENOUGH — LETTERS — RETURN TO PARIS — FRIENDSHIP WITH LAFAY
ETTE — SYMPATHY WITH POLAND — IMPRISONMENT OF DE. HOWE — FALL
OF WAESAW — LETTEES TO HIS BEOTHEE — SUGGESTS LIGHTNING-TELE-
GEAPH — HUMBOLDT — PEESIDES AT FOUETH-OF-JULY DINNEE — LETTEES
OF LAFAYETTE — INTEEIOE OF THE LOUVEE — HUMBOLDT AND MOESE —
DUNLAP'S NOTICE'S OF MOESE IN PAEIS AND LONDON.

~T)BESIDENT of the National Academy, and among the first
- in his profession in the United States, Mr. Morse had never
been in Italy. He had a profound consciousness that whatever
attainments in art he had already made, or could yet make, until
he had studied under the old masters, who being dead yet speak,
there was much to be learned, and he must sit as a learner in the
presence of their works. Having received the following com
missions for pictures, he resolved to go abroad again :

" We, the subscribers, having learned that Samuel F. B. Morse
is about to embark for Europe, for the purpose of study and prac
tice in his profession, in Rome, Paris, and London, do commission
said Morse to execute the orders severally placed against our
names, and do agree to advance the money for the same, at such
time and in such proportions as shall be specified in a written order
from the said Morse, the holder of such order to be considered as
duly authorized to receive the same, and the money to be paid to
him, and his receipt taken in discharge of said subscription, or the
several parts thereof.

"NEW YORK, September 25, 1829.

COMMISSIONS FOR PICTURES. 173

Philip Hone, $100 — to be disposed of in such way as may be most agreeable to Mr.
Morse. A picture not larger than Newton's or Leslie's — say twenty-five by
thirty.

M. Van Schaick, $200 — paid for two cabinet pictures, copies or originals — twenty-
four by eighteen. Either landscapes or heads.

Chas. Carvill, $100. Like A. P. & Slender, belonging to Haggerty.

DeWitt Bloodgood, $100 (copy or copies). Some small, high-finished picture ; heads
from Titian.

Dr. David Hosack — two cabinet pictures, not over twenty-five by thirty inches, at
$150 each— $300.

Jona. Goodhue, $100 — to be at the disposal of Mr. Morse. Wishes two pictures at
$50 each.

Benj. L. Swan, $100. To be one picture, as Mr. Morse may select, twenty-five by
thirty inches, as a companion to one painting in Rome, by Mr. Peale.

John B. Van Schaick, $50 — d la discretion.

R. V. DeWitt, $100. One or two pictures; if one, a landscape ; if two, one land
scape and one figure.

Stephen Van Rensselaer, Albany. Two or more pictures. (See accompanying
letter.)

Robert Donaldson (15 State Street, New York)— school of Athens— $100 ; size, say
thirty inches by thirty-eight or forty.

Frederick Sheldon, $100. To be at the disposal of Mr. Morse; say a landscape of
Claude or Poussin, twenty-five by thirty.

G. G. Howland, $150 — two landscapes — Mr. Morse's taste — good size, twenty-five
by thirty inches, or thereabout, of Poussin or Claude.

Moss Kent, $100 — at my discretion.

Charles Walker, $500: 'Miracolo del Servo' of Tintoretto, or some picture of that
class.

Moses H. Grinnell, $100. His brother thinks of the picture by Carlo Dolce in the
Borghese Palace.

P. and C., a picture each, for $60 each.

J. L. Morton, $30.

Mr. Donaldson's subscription is only in part payment for the copy to be painted for
him.

S. Salisbury, a view of the Fountain of Egeria, with figures antique, for $200, twen
ty-five by thirty inches.

Wm. H. Russell, Esq., of New York, copy of * The Fine Arts,' by Alessandro Turchi,
in the Colonna Palace. Fifty-four by thirty-six inches, $250.

Leaving his children in the care of his relatives, Mr. Morse
sailed from New York November 8, 1829, and landed in Liver
pool on the 4th day of December. He was lodged at the Liver
pool Arms Hotel, where he put up eighteen years before, when
he arrived as a student in England. He came on the same errand
now, though he had long since become a teacher and master.
The few days that he passed in England are recalled by a letter
he wrote in Dover to a favorite cousin, on Christmas-day, 1829 :

174 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" When I left Liverpool, I took my seat upon the outside of the
coach, in order to see as much as possible of the country through
which I was to pass. Unfortunately, the fog and smoke were so
dense that I could see objects but a few yards from the road. Oc
casionally, indeed, the fog would become less dense, and we could
see the fine lawns of the seats of the nobility and gentry which
were scattered on our route, and which still retained their verdure.
Now and then the spire and towers of some ancient village church
rose out of the leafless trees, beautifully simple in their forms, and
sometimes clothed to the very tops with the evergreen ivy. It was
severely cold ; my eyebrows, hair, cap, and the fur of my cloak,
were soon coated with frost, but I determined to keep my seat,
though I suffered some from the cold. Their fine natural health, or
the frosty weather, gave to the complexions of the peasantry, particu
larly the females and children, a beautiful rosy bloom. Through all
the villages there was the appearance of great comfort and neat
ness — a neatness, however, very different from ours. Their nicely-
thatched cottages bore all the marks of great antiquity, covered
with brilliant green moss like velvet, and round the doors and win
dows were trained some of the many kinds of evergreen vines
which abound here. Most of them, also, had a trim court-yard be
fore their doors, planted with laurel, and holly, and box, and some
times a yew, cut into some fantastic shape. The streets of all the
villages were uniformly clean. The whole appearance of the vil
lages was neat and venerable, like some aged matron, who, with all
her wrinkles, her stooping form, and gray locks, preserves the dig
nity of cleanliness in her ancient but becoming costume. At
Trent ham, we passed one of the seats of the Marquis of Stafford,
c Trentham HalV Here the marquis has a fine gallery of pictures,
and among them Allston's famous picture of c Uriel in the Sun? I
slept the first night in Birmingham, which I had no time to see, on
account of darkness, smoke, and fog, three most inveterate enemies
to the seekers of the picturesque and of antiquities. In the morn
ing, before daylight, I resumed my journey toward London. At
' Stratford on Avon? I breakfasted, but in such haste, as not to be
able to visit again the house of Shakespeare"* }s birth, or his tomb ;
this house, however, I visited when in England before. At Oxford,
the city of so many classical recollections, I stopped but a few mo
ments to dine. I was here, also, when before in England. It is a
most splendid city ; its spires, and domes, and towers, and pinna
cles, rising from amid the trees, give it a magnificent appearance as

VISIT WITH LESLIE. 175

you approach it. Before we reached Oxford, we passed through
Woodstock and Blenheim, the seat of the Duke of Marlborough,
whose splendid estates are at present suffering from the embarrass
ment of the present duke, who has ruined his fortunes by his fond
ness for play. Darkness came on after leaving Oxford. I saw
nothing until arriving in the vicinity of the great metropolis, which
has, for many miles before you enter it, the appearance of a contin
uous village. We saw the brilliant gas-lights of its streets, arid our
coach soon joined the throng of vehicles that rattled over its pave
ments. I could scarcely realize that I was once more in London,
after fourteen years' absence.

" My first visit was to my old friend and fellow-pupil Leslie,
who seemed overjoyed to see me, and has been unremitting in his
attentions during my stay in London. Leslie I found, as I expected,
in high favor with the highest classes of England's noblemen and
literary characters. His reputation is well deserved, and will not
be ephemeral. I received an invitation to breakfast from Samuel
Rogers, Esq., the celebrated poet, which I accepted with my friend
Leslie. Mr. Rogers is the author of * Pleasures of Memory,' of
* Italy,' and other poems. He has not the proverbial lot of the
poet — that of being poor — for he is one of the wealthiest bankers,
and lives in splendid style. His collection of pictures is very select,
chosen by himself, with great taste.

" I attended, a few evenings since, the lecture on anatomy at
the Royal Academy, where I was introduced to some of the most
distinguished artists ; to Mr. Shee, the poet and author as well as
painter ; to Mr. Howard, the secretary of the Academy ; to Mr.
Hilton, the keeper ; to Mr. Stothard, the librarian, and several
others. I expected to have met and been introduced to Sir Thomas
Lawrence, the president, but he was absent, and I have not had the
pleasure of seeing him. I was invited to a seat with the academi
cians, as was also Mr. Cole, a member of our Academy in New
York. I was gratified in seeing America so well represented in the
painters Leslie and Newton. The lecturer also paid, in his lecture,
a high compliment to Allston, by a deserved panegyric, and by
several quotations from his poems, illustrative of principles which
he advanced.

"After the lecture I went home to tea with Newton, accom-.
panied by Leslie, where I found our distinguished countryman,
Washington Irving, our secretary of legation, and W. E. West,
another American painter, whose portrait of Lord Byron gave him

176 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

much celebrity. I passed a very pleasant evening, of course. The
next day I visited the National Gallery of Pictures, as yet but
small, but containing some of the finest paintings in England.
Among them is the celebrated ' Raising of Lazarus,' by Sebastian
del Piombo, for which a nobleman of this country offered to the
late proprietor sixteen thousand pounds sterling, which sum was
refused. I visited also Mr. Turner, the best landscape-painter liv
ing, and was introduced to him. I went also, a few days since, to
the British Museum, which has undergone many improvements
since I was last in England, particularly in the addition of a
splendid wing, nearly five hundred feet long, containing a noble
addition of books — the late king's library of seventy thousand vol
umes. This museum now contains all the royal libraries, from
Henry VIII. down to the present time. The whole number of vol
umes, I was told by the Rev. Mr. Home, the librarian (who politely
accompanied me through the rooms), was over three hundred thou
sand. I asked him whether it was accessible to any who wished to
consult it, and I learned that the utmost liberality, consistent with
the preservation of the books and manuscripts, is observed. He
generously offered to procure me admission at all times, when I
returned to reside for some time in London. In one part of the
museum is the place for consulting books. Here perfect silence is
preserved, not a whisper being allowed. If a book is wanted, the
name is written on a piece of paper, and handed to one of the libra
rians or his assistants, of which there are a great many in attend
ance, who procures it. There were, perhaps, thirty individuals thus
seated in the midst of books piled up around them, and, with their
eyebrows knit intently searching for some desired information, they
looked like so many school-boys hard at work at their lessons. The
room containing the king's library is one of the most splendid I
ever saw. The columns are of polished granite and marble, and
the floors, inlaid with oak and mahogany, were kept as highly
polished with wax and are as carefully rubbed as our mahogany
furniture. In the room for antiquities are many brought from Egypt
by Belzoni, sphinxes, sarcophagi, portions of obelisks, and many
inscribed stones. Here also is the celebrated i Rosetta stone,' with
the triple inscription on it, which was captured in Egypt by the Eng
lish from the French, and is the source of the discovery of a key
to the hieroglyphics of Egypt, which is now used to such advantage
by Champollion. I did not see so much of London or its curiosities
as I should have done at another season of the year. The greater

CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL. 177

part of the time was night — literally night; for, besides being the
shortest days of the year (it not being light until eight o'clock and
dark again at four,), the smoke and fog have been most of the time
so dense that darkness has for many days occupied the hours of
daylight. On one day in particular I was writing at the window at
two o'clock in the day, and was obliged to desist, not being able to
see, while in houses on the opposite side of the street candles were
seen in various rooms.

" On the 22d inst., Tuesday, I left London, after having obtained
in due form my passports for the Continent, in company with J.
Town, Esq., and N. Jocetyn, Esq. (American friends), intending to
pass the night at Canterbury, thirty-six miles from London. The
day was very unpleasant, very cold, and snowing most of the time.
At Blackheath we saw the palace at which the late unfortunate
queen of George IV. resided. On the heath, among the bushes, is a
low furze, with which it is in part covered ; there were encamped in
their miserable blanket-huts a gang of gypsies ; no wigwams of the
Oneidas ever looked so comfortless. On the road we overtook a
gypsy girl with a child in her arms, both having the stamp of that
singular race strongly marked upon their features : black hair and
sparkling black eyes, with a nut-brown complexion, and cheeks of
russet red, and not without a shrewd intelligence in their expres
sion. At night about nine o'clock we arrived at the Guildhall Tav
ern in the celebrated and ancient city of Canterbury. Early in the
morning, as soon as we had breakfasted, we visited the superb ca
thedral. This stupendous pile is one of the most distinguished
Gothic structures in the world ; it is not only interesting from its
imposing style of architecture, but from its numerous historical
associations. The first glimpse we caught of it was through and
over a rich decayed gate-way to the inclosure of the cathedral-
grounds. After passing the gate, the vast pile — with its three great
towers, and innumerable turrets, and pinnacles, and buttresses, and
arches, and painted windows — rose in majesty before us ; the grand
centre tower, covered with a gray moss, seemed like an immense mass
of the Palisades, struck out with all its regular irregularity, and placed
above the surrounding masses of the same gray rocks. The bell of the
great tower was tolling for morning service, and yet so distant, from
its height, that it was scarcely heard upon the pavement below ; we
entered the door of one of the towers and came immediately into
the nave of the church. The effect of the long aisles and towering
clustered pillars and richly-carved screens of a Gothic church upon
12

178 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

the imagination can scarely be described — the emotion is that of
awe. A short procession was quickly passing up the steps of the
choir, consisting of the beadle, or some such officer, with his wand
of office, followed by ten boys in white surplices ; behind these were
the prebends and other officers of the church ; the one thin and pale,
the other portly and round, with powdered hair, and sleepy, dull,
heavy expression of face, much like the face that Hogarth has
chosen for the ' Preacher to his Sleepy Congregation.' This per
sonage we afterward heard was Lord Nelson, the brother of the
celebrated Nelson, and the heir to his title. The service was read
in a hurried and commonplace manner to about thirty individuals,
most of whom seemed to be the necessary assistants at the cere
monies.

" The effect of the voices in the responses, and the chanting of the
boys, reverberating through the aisles and arches and recesses of the
church, was peculiarly imposing, but, when the great organ struck
in, the emotion of grandeur was carried to its height — I say nothing
of devotion ; I did not pretend on this occasion* to join in it. I own
that my thoughts as well as my eyes were roaming to other objects,
and gathering around me the thousand recollections of scenes of
splendor, and of terror, of bigotry and superstition, which were acted
in sight of the very walls by which I was surrounded. Here the
murder of Thomas a Becket was perpetrated, there was his miracle-
working shrine, visited by pilgrims from all parts of Christendom,
and enriched with the most costly jewels that the wealth of princes
could purchase and lavish upon it ; the very steps worn into deep
cavities by the knees of the devotees^ as they approached the
shrine, were ascended by us. There stood the tomb of Henry IV.
and his queen, and here was the tomb of Edward, the Black Prince,
with a bronze figure of the prince richly embossed and enameled
reclining upon the top, and over the canopy were suspended the
surcoat and casque, the gloves of mail and shield with which he
was accoutred when he fought the famous battle of Cressy ; there
also stood the marble chair in which the Saxon kings were crowned,
and in which, with the natural desire that all seemed to have in
such cases, I could not avoid seating myself ; from this chair, placed
at one end of the nave, is seen to the best advantage the length of
the church, five hundred feet in extent. After the service I visit
ed more at leisure the tombs and other curiosities of the church.
The precise spot on which Archbishop Becket was murdered is
shown, for the spot upon which his head fell on the pavement was

DOVER CASTLE. . 179

cut out as a relic and sent to Rome, and the placed filled in with a
fresh piece of stone about four inches square. The cloisters of the
church, in ruins, are very splendid in their architecture. The crypt,
under the church, is a fine specimen of Saxon architecture, and con
tains the ruins of the Virgin Mary's chapel, which once was enriched
with a silver image of the Virgin, constantly lighted with silver
lamps suspended from the ceiling, which was profusely studded with
jewels and enameled.

" After leaving the cathedral we visited a part of the ancient
walls (Roman remains) of the city ; they are very high, with round
and square towers at intervals of perhaps two hundred feet ; they
were coated with a cement filled with flints of all sizes, from the
smallest to the bigness of a cocoa-nut. We next visited the remains
of the monastery of St. Augustin; here stood till within a few
years £ Ethelbert's Tower,' a beautiful Saxon ruin, which fell by
natural decay, and is entirely gone ; the north gate of the monastery
is an exquisite piece of Gothic architecture, fast going to decay ; a
large and annually widening crack in each of the towers gives omi
nous notice of a fall, and, unless some public spirit is manifested to
preserve it, this beautiful gate will speedily share the fate of Ethel
bert's Tower. But it is idle to talk of public spirit, as you will
agree, when I tell you that the gate is now c Beer's Brewery,' the
room over the gate-way a ' cockpit,' over the door leading into the
church is seen the sign of * Fives and Tennis Court ' — the great court
yard is now a ' bowling-green.'

" In the afternoon we left Canterbury and proceeded to Dover,
intending to embark the next morning (Thursday, December 24th)
for Calais or Boulogne in the steamer. The weather, however, was
very unpromising in the morning, being thick and foggy and ap
parently preparing for a storm ; we therefore made up our minds to
stay, hoping the next .day would be more favorable — but Friday,
Christmas-day came with a most violent northeast gale and snow
storm — Saturday the 26th, Sunday the 27th, and at this moment,
Monday 28th, the storm is more violent than ever, the streets are
clogged with snow, and we are thus embargoed completely for we
know not how long a time to come.

" Notwithstanding the severity of the weather on Thursday, we
all ventured out through the wind and snow to visit Dover Castle,
situated upon the bleak cliffs to the north of the town. After as
cending the hill by numerous flights of steps, we crossed the moat
which encircles the castle, upon a modern drawbridge. Here, we

130 LIFE OF SAMUEL R B. MORSE.

were accosted by the warder of the castle, a veteran soldier, who
with great garrulousness offered his services to conduct us through
the works, which cover more than thirty acres. We acccepted his
offer and commenced the circuit. ' Queen Elizabeth's Pocket-pistol '
was the first object that was shown us — it is a beautiful piece of
ordnance of brass, a present to that queen from Holland. It has
erroneously been called '< Queen Anne's Pocket-pistol,' and the fol
lowing motto was said to be upon it :

' Keep me bright and rub me clean,
I'll carry a ball to Calais Green.'

This is not the motto ; I copied the following true motto from it on
the spot, which some of our Dutch friends must translate for you:

' Breck scuret al muer ,ende wal.
Bin ic geheten

Doer berch en dal boert minen bal.
Van mi gesmeten.'

It is twenty-four feet long, and has date of 1544 upon it ; it has
lately been mounted upon a splendid bronze carriage, by the order
of the Duke of Wellington. The castle, with its various towers
and walls, and outworks, has been the constant care of the govern
ment for ages. Here are the remains of every age, from the time of
the Romans to the present. About the centre of the inclosure stand
two ancient ruins — the one, a tower built by the Romans, thirty-six
years after Christ ; and the other, a rude church built by the Saxons
in, the sixth century. Other remains of towers and walls indicate
the various kinds of defensive and offensive war in different
ages, from the time when the round or square tower with its loop
holes for the archers and cross-bowmen, and gates secured by heavy
portcullis, were a substantial defense, down to the present time,
when the bastion of regular sides advances from the glacis, mounted
with modern ordnance, keeping at a greater distance the hostile
besiegers. Through the glacis in various parts are sally-ports, from
one of which, opening toward the road to Ramsgate, I well remem
ber seeing a corporal's guard issue, about fifteen years ago, to take
possession of me ^ind my sketch-book, as I sat under a hedge at
some distance to sketch the picturesque towers of this castle.
Somewhat suspicious of their intentions, I left my retreat, and, by a
circuitous route into the town, made my escape, not, however, with-
*out ascertaining from behind a distant hedge that I was actually
the object of their' expedition. They went to the spot where I had

A' CHANNEL STEAMER. 181

been sitting, made a short search, and then returned to the castle
through the same sally-port. At that time (a time of war not
only with France, but America also), the strictest watch was kept,
and to have been caught making the slightest sketch of a fortifica
tion would have subjected me to much trouble. Times are now
changed, and, had * Jack Frost ' (the only commander of rigor now
at the castle) permitted, I might have sketched any part of the
interior or exterior. In the interior of the inclosure ris-es the
donjon-keep, higher than any other part of the buildings or forti
fications. It is now a magazine of powder. We did not go into any
of the excavations underneath the castle, which are very extensive ;
they are now filled with military stores. After leaving the castle,
we visited the shaft which is on the hill back of the tower, and is a
passage for facilitating the forming of troops upon the top of the
hill ; it is a kind of well sunk upon the top of the heights, and
met at the bottom by a horizontal tunnel on a level with the
streets of the town.

" BOULOGNE-SUR-MER, FRANCE, December 29, 1829.

" This morning at ten o'clock, after our tedious detention, we
embarked from Dover in a steamer for this place, instead of Calais.
I mentioned the steamer; but, cousin, if you have formed any idea
of elegance, or comfort, or speed, in connection with the name of
steamer, from seeing our fine steamboats, and have imagined that
English or French boats are superior to ours, you may as well be un
deceived—I know of no description of packet-boats in our waters
bad enough to convey the idea. They are small, black, dirty, con
fined things, which would be suffered to rot at the wharves for
want of the least custom from the lowest in our country. You may
judge of the extent of the accommodations, when I tell you that
there is in them but one cabin — six feet six inches high, fourteen
feet long, eleven feet wide, containing eight berths. Our passage
was fortunately short, and we arrived in the dominions of ' His
most Christian Majesty ' Charles X.. at five o'clock. The transi
tion from a country where one's own language is spoken, to one
where the accents are strange — from a country where the manners
and habits are somewhat allied to our own, ^o one where every
thing is different, even to the most trifling article of dress — is very
striking on landing, after so short an interval from England to
France. The pier-head at our landing was filled with human beings
in strange costume, from the gray surtout and belt of the gen
darmes, to the broad twilled and curiously plaited caps of the mas-

182 • LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

culine women, which latter beings, by-the-by, are the licensed porters
of baggage to the custom-house.

" PARIS, January 7, 1830.

" Here have I been, in this great capital of the Continent, since
the first day of the year. I shall remember my first visit to Paris
from the circumstance that, at the dawn of day of the new year, we
passed the ' Porte St.-Denis ' into the narrow and dirty streets of
this great metropolis.

" The Louvre was the first object we visited. Our passports
obtained us ready admittance ; and, although our fingers and feet
were almost frozen, we yet lingered three hours in the grand ' gal
lery of pictures.' Indeed, it is a long walk simply to pass up and
down the long hall, the end of which, from the opposite end, is
scarcely visible, but is lost in the mist of distance. On the walls
are twelve hundred and fifty of some of the chefs-d'oeuvre of paint
ing. Here I have marked out several which I shall copy on my
return from Italy. I have my residence'at present at the Hotel de
Lille, which is situated very commodiously in the midst of all the
most interesting objects of curiosity to a stranger in Paris — the
palace of the Tuileries, the Palais Royal, the Bibliotheque Royale,
or royal library, and numerous other places, all within a few paces
of us. On New- Year's day the equipages of the nobility and for
eign ambassadors, etc., who paid their respects to the king and the
Duke of Orleans, made considerable display in the Place du Carrou
sel and in the court of the Tuileries.

" At an exhibition of manufactures of porcelain, tapestry, etc., in
the Louvre, where were some of the most superb specimens of art
in the world in these articles, we also saw the Duchesse de Berri.
She is the mother of the little Due de Bordeaux, who, you know, is
the heir-apparent to the crown of France. She was simply habited
in a blue pelisse and "blue bonnet, and would not be distinguished
in her appearance from the crowd except by her attendants in liv
ery. I cannot close, however, without telling you what a delight
ful evening I passed evening before last at General Lafayette's. He
had a soiree on that night, at which there were a number of Amer
icans. When I went in, he instantly recognized me, took me by
both hands, said he was expecting to see me in France, having
read in the American papers that I had embarked. He met me
apparently with great cordiality, then introduced me to each of his
family, to his daughters, to Madame Lasterie and her two daughters
(very pretty girls), and to Madame Ramousal, and two daughters

LYONS AND AVIGNON. 183

of his son, G. W. Lafayette, also very accomplished and beautiful
girls. The General inquired how long I intended to stay in France,
and pressed me to come and pass some time at La Grange, when I
return from Italy. General Lafayette looks very well, and seems
to have the respect of all the best men in France. At his soiree I
saw the celebrated Benjamin Constant, one of the most distin
guished of the liberal party in France. He is tall and thin, with a
very fair, white complexion, and long white silken hair, moving with
all the vigor of a young man."

The three years that Mr. Morse passed in Europe at this time
are reflected in such letters to his friends, and in fragments of
diaries kept in tiny " scratch-books." These little books, which
he made and could easily carry in Ms vest pocket, he filled
with drawings of objects that met his eye — often pictures of
peculiar people, and added brief notes with pencil. Before he
left New York, he was offered pecuniary inducements to be
come the foreign correspondent of newspapers, but he made no
positive engagements, and he says in an early letter : " I fear it
will consume more of my time than the thing is worth ; my
time here is worth a guinea a minute in the way of my pro
fession. I find my pen and pencil are enemies to each other. I
must write less and paint more."

Leaving Paris, on his journey to Italy, he rested a few days
at Lyons, in the study of the antiquities and architecture of that
interesting city. His note-book has a pencil-drawing of a " Sis
ter of Charity" whom he met in a hospital, and whose face
suggests to him a picture of Mercy. The gold-works and the
silver-factories being explored, he continues his course south
ward, mentioning a " telegraph making signals " on a hill which
he passed. The olive and orange trees soon tell him that he is
in a warmer clime. He spent Sunday, January 24, 1830, in
Avignon, the ancient city of the popes in the time of the exile,
and worshiped in the cathedral-church of St.-Agricol, as there
was not a Protestant place of worship in the city. Here, for
the first time in his life, he saw a military pageant contribute
to the effect of divine service. " A superb military band of
music, followed by troops, entered the church ; the nave was
filled with people, principally women ; drums were beating and
fifes playing ; the troops formed two lines from the altar to the

184 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

great door, and their officers inarched up through the lines and
took seats within the railing of the altar. On each side of the
altar fierce-looking soldiers stood, with long beards, and armed
with battle-axes, their high, cylindrical, bear-skin caps giving
them a height almost gigantic. The church seemed to be a
military garrison. At the word of command drums and trum
pets were sounded, and a little bell announced the priest, a
venerable man, in a green, embroidered dress, who performed
the service. The band of twenty-seven performers in the tran
sept on the left commenced playing, and produced the most
thrilling music." He did not enjoy the service, with the ex
ception of the music, of wrhich he heard more in the evening,
and expressed himself " enchanted " with it. The beauty of
the women draws from him this remark : " We have observed
more beautiful faces among the women in a single day at Avi
gnon, than we saw during two weeks at Paris."

" Monday, January %5th. — We ascended the hill of the Dons,
upon which the palace of the popes is built. The hill is terraced, and
is ascended in many places by flights of rude stone steps. The stair
case to the terrace of the palace is peculiarly grand. The interior
of the chapel, which we entered, has been much abused, but had
evidently been splendidly decorated. The paintings and statuary
are not of a high order. The altars, of variously-colored marbles,
are very rich. The votive offerings were amusing — execrable paint
ings, representing scenes of deliverance : a man has a stone falling
on his head, another jumping from a tower, waxen legs and arms —
a curious assemblage. From the top of the great tower we had a
magnificent prospect — the mountains in the far distance, and the
Rhone winding through an immense plain studded with hamlets,
and dividing into two branches, uniting again. To the west rose
the picturesque castle and towers of Villeneuve, having for a back
ground the mountains toward Nismes. To the south a river is
seen sparkling through the plain, and rushing to meet the Durance.
From the hill I made several sketches. The museum, where are
some fine pictures, was, unfortunately, closed. Our landlord told
me that Napoleon I. often stopped with him, and his officers said
that he was so much pleased with his fare, that he was accustomed
to say, when his fare was bad in distant places, ' This is not so
comfortable as at Madame Pierrori's, in Avignon.' "

INCIDENT AT TOULON. 185

" January 26th. — At six o'clock last evening left Avignon on
the diligence. At precisely twelve o'clock to-day the Mediterranean
opened, with its blue expanse, before us ; the castellated islands in
the harbor of Marseilles, and the lug-sailed boats, like birds, rest
ing on the bosom of the waters ; the high, fortified mountain beyond
the harbor — made a scene of exceeding beauty as we approached the
town. Halting to be searched for wine, we entered and found com
fortable quarters at the Hotel Beauvau. One or two days in the
city and he went to Toulon, the gates of which had to be opened
before the diligence could enter ; and then we passed through a
row of sentinels and over a drawbridge, again through files of sen
tinels, and the arched passages of the walls into the streets of the
city."

Having explored this great naval station, and critically ex
amined the vessels-of-war, and noticed the five hundred galley-
slaves, with dresses to mark the degree of crime for which they
were condemned to this service, Mr. Morse remarks :

" The stone-houses for covering the ships while they are build
ing, are substantial, having a Gothic arched roof, supported by
stone arches, resting upon eight solid piers of stone, about twenty
feet apart, and perhaps fifty feet high. In the model-room are
models of vessels of all classes, methods of drawing up ships on
railways, plans of dry-docks, and other marine machinery, exceed
ingly beautiful. The city is just now agitated by a most melan
choly incident. A sergeant had formed the intention of killing his
captain, in resentment for some supposed injury. The colonel of
the regiment, universally popular with his troops and with the in
habitants of the city, ignorant altogether of the feelings of this
man toward him, beckoned him to come to him after the parade.
The sergeant, supposing that by some means the colonel had ob
tained knowledge of his intentions, leveled his gun and shot him
dead upon the spot. The colonel is lying in his house, which I
passed, and the wretched culprit I saw under guard marched to
prison. He will be shot in a few days."

Mr. Morse pursued his journey, by private carriage, with a
pleasant party of friends, stopping at every place of interest on
the road. Nice, at that time, was in the territory of Italy, and
the King of Sardinia, Charles Felix, was making a royal visit in
the city when Mr. Morse arrived :

156 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" Entering the cathedral, we saw the king seated on a throne,
under a splendid canopy of crimson and gold, on the right of the
altar. Mass was celebrated, and the king then rose, bowed toward
the altar, crossed himself, and retired."

Mr. Morse delayed a day or two in this delightful city,
which has become the great winter resort of invalids and pleas
ure-seekers, and then, by the famous Cornice road, went on to
Genoa. The railway now carries the traveler through moun
tains that were then slowly traversed by coach and horses ; the
romantic passes that were then the marvel and delight of
passengers with steady nerves, are only matters of history. He
says:

" At eleven we had attained a height of at least two thousand
feet, and the precipices became frightful, sweeping down into long
ravines to the very edge of the sea, and then the road would
wind at the very edge of the precipice two or three thousand feet
deep. Such scenes pass so rapidly it is impossible to make note of
them. From the heights on which La Turbia stands, with its
dilapidated walls, we see the beautiful city of Monaco, on a tongue
of land extending into the sea."

Now the road began to descend along the most frightful
precipices and ravines ; the slopes of the mountains were ter
raced and covered with vines, w^here it would seem almost impos
sible to climb. Mr. Morse rested at Mentone, " a beautiful place
for an artist," and then went to San Remo, where he spent the
night. Porto Maurice and Oniglia, familiar names to travelers,
he mentions, and he makes a sketch of the cupola of a little
church in Oniglia, and of some ruins in the rear of the inn at
which he dined. His path lay along rugged precipices, dizzy
heights, lofty arches, and dangerous passes ; he lodged at Alben-
za, and the next day passed over some of the most stupendous
parts of the road, admiring the engineering skill that accom
plished it, and the enterprise that attempted it. Having spent
the next night at Savona, he reached Genoa on the 6th of Feb
ruary, and was permitted to enter, after being searched for
" powder and tobacco." Its palaces and churches astonished and
delighted him, and, after a few days of sight-seeing, he posted

SETTLED IN ROME. 187

to Pisa, where lie studied and sketched the Duomo, the Bap
tistry, the Leaning Tower, and the Campo Santo. He did not
linger in Florence, as he would return to study the treasures of
art in that city at his leisure. He arrived in Rome, February 20,
1830. Taking lodgings at No. 17 Yia de Prefetti, he entered
at once upon the work for which he had come. He writes,
March 7th :

" I have begun to copy the l School of Athens,' from Raffaelle,
for Mr. R. Donaldson. The original is on the walls of one of the
celebrated Camera of Raffaelle in the Vatican ; it is in fresco, and
occupies one entire side of the room. It is a difficult picture to
copy, and will occupy five or six weeks, certainly. Every moment
of my time, from early in the morning until late at night, when not
in the Vatican, is occupied in seeing the exhaustless stores of
curiosities in art and antiquities with which this wonderful city
abounds. I find I can endure great fatigue, and my spirits are
good, and I feel strong for the pleasant duties of my profession. I
feel particularly anxious that every gentleman who has given me a
commission shall be more than satisfied that he has received an
equivalent for the sum generously advanced to me. But I find that
to accomplish this, I shall need all my strength and time for more
than a year to come, and that will be little enough to do myself and
them justice. I am delighted with my situation, and more than
ever convinced of the wisdom of my course in coming to Italy.

" March Ylth. — Mr. Fenimore Cooper and family are here. I
have passed many pleasant hours with them, particularly one
beautiful moonlight evening, visiting the Coliseum. After the
Holy Week, I shall visit Naples, probably with Mr. Theodore
Woolsey, who is now in Rome.

" Ma/rch 18th. — Ceremonies at the Consistory; delivery of the
cardinals' hats ; at nine o'clock went to the Vatican." (Here is a
picture of what he saw.) "Two large fantails, with ostrich-
feathers ; ladies penned up ; pope ; cardinals kiss his hand in rota
tion ; address in Latin, tinkling, like water gurgling from a bottle ;
the English cardinal first appeared, went up, and was embraced
and kissed on each cheek by the pope ; then followed the others in
the same manner ; then each new cardinal embraced in succession
all the other cardinals ; after this, beginning with the English car
dinal, each went to the pope, and he, putting on their heads the
cardinal's hat, blessed them in the name of the Trinity. They then

183 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

kissed the ring on his hand, and his toe, and retired from the
throne. The pope then rose, blessed the assembly, by making the
sign of the cross three times in the air, with his two fingers, and
left the room. His dress was a plain mitre of gold tissue, a rich
garment of gold and crimson, embroidered, a splendid clasp of gold,
about six inches long by four wide, set with precious stones, upon
his breast. He is very decrepit, limping or tottering along, has a
defect in one eye, and his countenance has an expression of pain,
especially as the new cardinals approached his toe. The cardinals
followed the pope, two and two, with their train-bearers. After a
few minutes the doors opened again, and a procession headed by
singers entered, chanting as they went; the cardinals followed
them with their train-bearers. They passed through the Consistory,
and thus closed the ceremony of presenting the cardinals' hats. A
multitude of attendants, in various costumes, surrounded the pon
tiff's throne, during the ceremony, among whom was Bishop Du-
bois, of New York."

Mr. Morse's note-books are filled with mere mention of pict
ures in the several rooms of the various palaces and galleries
that he explored, and of incidents that marked his daily life in
Rome. A few days — in the abrupt and abbreviated terms of his
diary — will show the habit of the man :

" Thursday, March 18, 1830.— Colonna Palace ; Earl Shrews
bury occupies it. First Room. — ' Death of Cleopatra,' by Mura-
tori, pupil of Guido, well composed ; head of Cleopatra, good. ' Re
becca at the Well,' by the same ; good parts, but much mannered.
Second Room. — ' The Colonna Family rising from the Tomb,' by
Pietro da Cortona ; sky, good. A beautiful piece of still-life, by
Castiglione; spoils. Third Room. — 'The Audience Chambers,'
exceedingly splendid in tapestry, etc. Fourth Room.—'' Calvin
and Luther,' by Titian. Portrait of one of the Colonna family,
called the ' Green Picture,' by Paul Veronese, proves that harmony
may be produced in one color ; curtain in the background, hot green,
middle tint; sleeves of the arms, cool / vest, which is in the mass
of light, as well as the lights of the curtain, WARM ; white collar,
which is the highest light, cool ! ! ! * Holy Family, etc., resting on
their Flight to Egypt,' by Bonifacio, fine for color, supports my
theory. Fifth Room. — A most splendid hall. ' St. John preach
ing in the Wilderness,' by M. Angelo Battaglia ; splendid for color,
and light and shade ; the dove over the head of John is full of light.

PROCESSION OF CARDINALS. 189

It is a picture that bears examination ; it lias a fine depth of chia.ro-
oscuro. Four pictures by Orizonti, good, but mannered. Several
good landscapes, in temper, by Gaspar Poussin. A strange picture
by Nicolo Lunno, the master of Pietro Perugino, ' The Devil seizing
a Child,' the mother praying to the Madonna, who with a club is
beating off the devil. ' St. Sebastian,' by Guido ; fine for chiaro-
oscuro. A grand full-length of c Lucretia Colonna,' by Vandyck ;
shining like a diamond. 'Holy Family,' etc., by Titian; splendid
for color.

" c Raphael's Skull ; ' Harlow's picture of the making of a cardinal.
Said to have been painted in twelve days. I don't believe it. ' The
Angels appearing to the Shepherds,' by Bassan ; good for color —
much trash in the way of portraits. Lower rooms contain the pict
ures for the premiums ; some good, all badly colored. Third Room.
— Bass-reliefs for the premiums. Fourth Room. — Smaller premium
pictures ; bad. Fifth Room. — Drawings ; the oldest best, modern
bad.

" Church of St. Peter, interior of the prison, etc. St. Andrew's
Church, too dark when we went in to see the famous frescos of
Domenichino.

" Friday, March 19th.— We went to St. Peter's to see the pro
cession of cardinals ; singing in the capella. Cardinals walked two
and two through St. Peter's, knelt on purple-velvet cushions before
the capella in prayer, then successively kissed the toe of the bronze
image of St. Peter, as they walked past it. This statue of St. Peter
as a work of art is as execrable as possible ; part of the toe and foot
is worn away and polished, not by the kisses, but by the wiping of
the foot after the kisses by the next comer, preparatory to kissing it,
sometimes with the coat-sleeve by a beggar, with the corner of the
cloak by the gentlemen, the shawl by the females, and with a nice
cambric handkerchief by the attendant at the ceremony, who wiped
the toe after each cardinal's performance. This ceremony is vari
ously performed ; some give it a single kiss and go away, others kiss
the toe and then touch the forehead to it, others again kiss the toe,
touch the forehead to it, and kiss the toe again, repeating the opera
tion sometimes three times. This day is one of the numerous festi
vals of the Church ; it is St. Joseph's day ; the shops are shut, and
before many of them, on the side pavement, are tables decorated with
evergreens and flowers, on which are large pans of fried cakes, hot

190 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

from the kettle of oil in which they are fried, and which is in the
centre of a group of cooks busily engaged in preparing these cakes
for their customers, who perform a meritorious act doubtless in eat
ing them this day — St. Joseph being very fond of these doughnuts,
as we should call them in New England. Women with enormous
buckles.

" Saturday ', March 20th. — Giustiniani Palazzo. — Bass-reliefs in
the yard, stueco ; nothing good. Braschi Palace. — A most splendid
staircase ; the richest in Rome that I have seen in the palaces. An
assortment of St. Sebastians by the dozen ; two in the hall, one in
the second room. Third Room. — A Titian, * Woman taken in Adul
tery ; ' fine for arrangement of color. A Murillo, ' The Assumption
of the Virgin.' ' Angel Boys' Heads ; ' good. ' Marriage of Cana,'
by Garofalo ; some of the costumes, fine. In the large hall is a very
fine statue of ' Antinous,' colossal in size and of the purest form.
A sweet portrait in Lely's style of a female like N. R.

" Palazzo Massino. — An exquisite statue of a Discobolus, and
some good pictures.

"Palazzo Mattel. — Fine bass-reliefs in the court-yard and exqui
sitely sculptured ornaments exposed to the weather. On the box,
' Scritture par la Sacra Rota? Ancient seats in the stairway.
View from the top of the Campidoglio : to the east, Albano, Fras-
cato, and, more toward the north, Preneste, and in the valley, at a
great distance, Cercello; went to the very top and stood by the
statue on the pinnacle.

" Sunday, March %~Lst. — Chiesa d' Orsoline. — Nun taking the
veil. Illustrissima Signori Anna Mazzetti, to assume the name of
S. Maria Clementina di S. Camillo. Church small, altar rich ; cardi
nal enters ; nun enters splendidly dressed, lace over blue ; kneels
before the cardinal ; a companion ; dress of cardinal, a gold-tissue
mitre, robes of white, fringed with gold lace ; two attendants hold
up the skirts of his robe while he addresses them ; nun's hair much
dressed with curls and silver and diamond ornaments of wheat-ears,
necklace, and ear-rings ; attendant of nun in rich blue, silk turban
embroidered with gold; address long; music; cardinal puts on a
splendid mitre and takes the rood or crozier. First act closes by a
procession out of the church, headed by the cardinal and nun. Mu
sic as an interlude. Cardinal enters without nun for a few minutes,
during which music plays rapid airs ; nuns' voices in another room ;
kissing the other nuns. Could not see for a large pillar and bonnet.

" Chiesa Nuova, at seven o'clock in the evening ; a sacred opera

IN THE VATICAN. 191

called c The Death of Aaron ; ' church dark, women not admitted ; bell
rings, and a priest before the altar chants a prayer, after which a
boy about twelve years old apparently addresses the assembly from
the pulpit ; I know not the drift of his discourse, but his utterance
was like the same gurgling process which I noticed in the orator
who addressed the pope ; it was precisely like the fitful tone of the
Oneida interpreter.

" Tuesday, March 23d. — At the Vatican all the morning.
While preparing my palette, a monk, decently habited for a monk,
who seemed to have come to the Vatican for the purpose of view
ing the pictures, after a little time approached me, and, with a very
polite bow, offered me a pinch of snuff, which of course I took,
bowing in return, when he instantly asked me alms. I gave him a
bajocco, for which he seemed very grateful. Truly this is a nation
of beggars.

" Wednesday, March 24:th. — Vatican all the morning ; saw in
returning a great number of priests, with a white bag over the left
shoulder, and begging of the persons they met. This is another in
stance of begging and robbing confined to one class.

" Thursday, March 25th. — Festa of the Annunciation, Vatican
shut. Doors open at eight of the Chiesa di Minerva ; obtained a
good place for seeing the ceremony ; at half-past nine the cardinals
began to assemble ; Cardinal Barberini officiated in robes, white,
embroidered with gold ; singing ; taking off and putting on mitres,
etc. ; jumping up and bowing, kissing the ring on the finger of the
cardinal; putting incense into censers; monotonous reading or
rather whining of a few lines of prayer in Latin ; flirting censers at
each cardinal in* succession ; cardinals bowing to one another ; many
attendants at the altar ; cardinals embrace one another. After mass
a contribution among the cardinals in rich silver plate. Enter the
virgins in white, with crowns, two and two, and candles ; they
kiss the hem of the garment of one of the cardinals ; they are ac
companied by three officers, and exit. Cardinals' dresses exquisitely
plaited (sixty-two cardinals in attendance).

IN" ROME.

"First Room. — Portrait of female at the toilet, by Geddes,
English ; for effect, chiaro-oscuro, and coloring, good. Deluge by
Schnelz, French ; faults of the French school. Large picture of a
sick child brought to the Virgin by her relative, by the same artist ;

192 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

parts full of feeling, particularly the boy himself, and the sister of
the boy ; parts well painted, but bad in general effect, and badly
colored. A great picture of the assassination of Vitellius, by
Quecy, a Roman artist ; bad throughout. A sweet picture of Italian
peasant at a fountain, by Weller of Mannheim ; the costumes and
indeed all beautifully painted. Two flower-pieces, by Senff, a
Prussian ; good. Statuary — a fine bass-relief of Christians about
to be torn in pieces by a tiger, by Tenerrani, of Carrara. Statue,
female playing on a guitar, by Scolari ; good.

" PALAZZO SLNTBALDI. — At half-past eight, the company began
to assemble in the splendid saloon of this palace, to which I was
invited ; the singers, about forty in number, were upon a stage
erected at the end of the room ; white drapery hung behind fes
toons with laurel-wreaths (the walls were painted in fresco) ; four
female statues standing on. globes upheld seven long wax-lights ;
the instrumental musicians, about forty, were arranged at the
foot of these statues. Sala was lighted principally by six glass
chandeliers. Much female beauty in the room, dresses very va
rious. Signora Luigia Tardi sung with much judgment, and was
received with great applause. A little girl, apparently about twelve
years old, played upon the harp in a most exquisite manner, and
called forth Iravas of the Italians, and of the foreigners bountifully.
The manners of the audience were the same as those of fashion
able society in our own country, and indeed in any other country.
The display in dress, however, less tasteful than I have seen in
New York ; but, in truth, I have not seen more beauty and taste in
any country, combined with cultivation of mind and delicacy of
manner, than in our own. At one o'clock in the morning, or half-
past six, Italian time, the concert was over.

" Friday, March 26th. — I have observed almost every morning
at the caffe beggars of some description, and different every morn
ing. This morning, a tall priest with a tin box ; a few mornings ago,
friar with white mask, and his hat hung on his back. While wait
ing to enter the Sinibaldi Palace last evening, being too early, I
walked with Mr. S. in a direction where we heard some chanting in
the street. Proceeding down a back street or two, we came to the
portico of a church illuminated by a multitude of wax-candles
burning before the Virgin ; a crowd filled the portico, and had as
sembled in great numbers about the railing. We stood at a little
distance looking on. The officiating priest in the proper time held
up the Host, at which all the people knelt, far and near.

ART CRITICISMS. 193

" Saturday, March %*th. — SCIAREA PALACE, First Room. —
Copy ' Transfiguration,' by Carlo Napolitano, not G. Romana, as er
roneously said; two deep-toned pictures, by Valentin; an exquisite
little picture, ' Mother and Child,' by Titian ; mother's dress, warm
crimson, warm flesh, principal light ; deep-blue ultra under the
child and back of the mother ; green curtain in background.

" Second Room. — Two small Claudes — one ' Lake of Bracino,'
on silver — the other, ' Flight into Egypt,' on copper ; landscapes by
Both, very good ; ' Castle Nuovo,' in Naples, by Canelletti.

" Third Room. — Voucts's picture of the * Present, Past, and
Future.'

" Fourth Room. — ' The Minstrels ' of Titian ; Raphael's portrait
of himself; Leonardo da Vinci's 'Modesty and Vanity;' 'The
Three Card-Players,' by Caravaggio.

EXPOSITION AT THE CAMPIDOGLIO (CONTINUED).

" Second Room. — Wyatt's statue of a female entering the bath,
an exquisite work.

" Third Room. — Gibson's statue of a female untying her sandal ;
4 Judith and Holofernes,' by Cav. Vernet; finely conceived, espe
cially the character and figure of Judith ; the color is generally bad,
but the lower part is well painted and well toned ; there is a mas
terly precision throughout, every thing is firmly and correctly ex
pressed; the head of Holofernes is French, too strongly charged,
but well meant. Portrait of the Pope, by Vernet ; very rich, and
parts well painted, but is too much cut up. * Nun taking the Veil,'
by Roger, French painter; good in parts, especially the back
ground. ' Greek Girl,' by Adkins, English, and a female portrait
by the same artist ; both rich for color. ' "Warrior preparing for
Battle, taking Leave of his Mistress.' by Levern, English ; sweet,
rich-toned little picture ' Albanese Female,' nearly full length, by
Vernet ; parts well expressed, but chalky in color. ' Friar in the
Catacombs, frightened to Death,' a story well told, but too brown,
by Diofabi, a Russian. Portraits, full length, in St. Peter's, by
Cavalleri, of Turin, well drawn in the architecture. A 'Mountebank
Exhibition,' by Weller, of Mannheim, contains great variety of
character and costume, and is carefully and beautifully finished ;
the Amphitheatre Marcellus forms the greater part of the back
ground. A landscape by Karezewski, a Pole ; parts, good. ' The
Vintage,' by Levern, English ; an exquisite picture, golden in tone,
13

194 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

and well composed. A good landscape, by Desoulavy, English. A
fine landscape, well colored, and in fine keeping, by Wilson, a
Scotch painter. ' Interior of an Italian Kitchen,' by Bravo, a Dane.

" Went to the Coliseum. Cross in the centre of the arena has
upon it this inscription, on a little white board nailed on it : ' Baci-
ando la Santa Croce si acouistono due cente geomo d'indulgenza.'
The rooks were chattering about the tops of the ruined arches, and
the smaller birds were singing in the bushes that covered the dilap
idated walls. Went to the baths of Titus, which are near the Coli
seum. Here are the fine arabesques, from which it is said Raphael
copied his ' Logge.' It is a mistake ; he may have taken some few de
tached parts, but his ' Logge ' are original. He has caught, indeed,
the spirit of those arabesques, all which is perfectly fair. They are
exquisitely beautiful, but going fast to decay.

" Monday, March 2$th. — Early this morning was introduced to
the cavalier Horace Vernet, Principal of the French Academy. Found
him in the beautiful gardens of the Academy. He came in a n'e-
glige dress — a cap, or rather turban, of various colors, a party-colored
belt, and a cloak. He received me kindly ; walked through the an
tique gallery of casts, a long room, and a splendid collection,
selected with great judgment ; the collection, also, of architectural
casts was splendid.

" Visited Mr. Gibson's studio, and Mr. Wyatt's. Mr. Gibson is
a man of real genius. He is not far behind Thorwaldsen. His
groups of the ' Seizure of Hylas,' and of ' Psyche borne by Zephyrs,'
are quite antique in their character and feeling. Mr. Wyatt's are
also excellent. His * Nymph entering the Bath ' is as chaste in
sentiment, and as beautiful for character, as I have ever seen of a
nude figure.

" Tuesday, March 30th. — Went to the Vatican in the morning.
While recreating, took a lounge in the upper logge of the Vatican,
which contain some curious maps of the world, and its various
parts, painted in fresco on the walls. The first map has on it the
Island of S. Brandani, mentioned by Irving in his £ Columbus ; ' the
second is New Spain, on which North America is represented, the
whole northern part, from a parallel about Cape Hatteras, as ' Terra
sive Mare Incognitum ; ' the third is Japan ; the fourth, America,
or Peru ; the fifth, ' Tartarorum regiones ; ' sixth, India beyond the
Ganges, or China; seventh, India this side the Ganges; eighth,
Persia; ninth, Turkey beyond Europe; tenth, Africa; eleventh, Af
rica, eastern part ; twelfth and thirteenth, the world, on the first of

CHEVALIER VERNET. 195

which is America, Terra Labrador, and C. del Labrado ; and from
them to C. della Florida, nearly all the way high ridges of moun
tains are made to extend from the coast far into the interior. A
little south of Labrador is ' Terra de Baccalaos ; ' Canada is down,
and but one of the lakes, which is not named ; all beyond is ' terra
incognita ; ' fourteenth, is Greenland, and congelations, with houses
and Indians on the ice, and reindeer ; fifteenth, much injured, ap
pears to be Russia; sixteenth, Moscovia; seventeenth, Finland,
Lapland, etc. ; eighteenth, Hungary, and Poland, etc. ; nineteenth,
Denmark, Holland, Germany ; twentieth, India, Canaan, and Pales
tine, more beautifully executed than the rest, the Holy Land in
gold ; twenty-first, Asia Minor ; twenty-second, Greece ; twenty-
third, Italy; twenty-fourth, France; twenty-fifth, Spain; twenty-
sixth, Great Britain.

" Wednesday, March 31st. — Early this morning was waked by
the roar of cannon. Learned that it was the anniversary of the
present pope's election. Went to the Vatican ; the colonnade was
filled with the carriages of the cardinals ; that of the new English
cardinal, Weld, was the most showy.

"There is a corporal's guard of soldiers stationed before the
Castle of St. Angelo, and another at the entrance of the colonnade
to St. Peter's. Their principal duty seems to be to shoulder arms
at a certain signal, and present arms when a cardinal's carriage
passes.

" Thursday Morning^ April 1st. — At the Vatican all day. Open
to the public. Went with Mr. Cooper into the room of the mo
saics, which I had never visited before. There are ten thousand
three hundred and sixteen different tints in glass, each in separate
boxes, occupying a hall of great length. The street leading to the
Vatican is very narrow, and filled with the meanest shops.

" Went in the evening to the soiree of the Chevalier Vernet,
Director of the French Academy. He is a gentleman of elegant
manners, and sees, at his soirees, the first society in Rome. His
wife is highly accomplished, and his daughter is a beautiful girl, full
of vivacity, and speaks English fluently. Books of plates were on
the table, among them an interesting work by Williman, published
in Paris, on costume, etc. During the evening there was music.
His daughter played on the piano, and others sang. There was
chess, and, at a sideboard, a few played cards. The style was sim
ple ; every one at ease, like our soirees in America. Several noble
men and dignitaries of the Church were present.

196 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" Friday r, April 2d. — Vatican all day. In the evening went to
the Church of the Trinita di Monte, and heard the exquisite singing
of the nuns. After vespers witnessed a ceremony in which two
boys, of eight and ten years of age, were brought to the altar before
the officiating cardinal. They knelt before him while he read from
a book held by an attendant. Assistants were on either side ; some
held lighted wax-candles, others held up the robes of the cardinal,
and others prompted the boys in the parts they were to act. During
the ceremony a white band was tied round the heads of each of the
boys. In conclusion, the cardinal and attendants retired and the
boys knelt on each side of a man at the altar, who appeared to be
their parent.

" Sunday, April 4:th. — Palm Sunday. Sistine Chapel, half-past
nine o'clock. Cardinals ; rich dresses, purple and gold ; Cardinal
Weld's the most splendid. Pass through files of guards ; ladies out
side the bar ; ambassadors' boxes ; royal box ; cardinal, attendants
in white, gentlemen of the cardinal. Ten o'clock, commence. Car
dinals put on mitre and received palms, which are of straw, with
crosses, etc., upon them. They retire to their seats, give palms to
attendants, who, at a signal, prostrate them on the floor, like ground
arms. (Cardinal Barberini officiated instead of the pope.) In re
ceiving the palm from the cardinal, each recipient kisses the two
hands of the cardinal. Procession commences at half-past ten. A
cross, with . two candles on each side. Cardinals return during
chanting from the choir. Cardinals divested of their finery, and ap
pear as ordinary, in purple and ermine. Putting incense into cen
sers. Prayer-book. Many attendants to assist in the ceremony of
opening a book. Cardinal says three or four words in a drawling
tone. One, in a drawling, school-boy tone, reads from a book in the
middle of the room. Great work made in bringing back the book.
•Chanting; which, for the most part, is a monotonous brawling.
Some good singing, and then a long, tedious tone of recitation in
Latin. History of the crucifixion from the Testament, of more than
three-quarters of an hour. (Attendants of the cardinals have olive-
branches instead of palms.) A pause, and all the cardinals kneel.
One next takes the book, shows it to cardinal, bows, turns round,
bows each side, advances one side of the altar, and kneels ; advances
to the altar, bows, and kneels again ; lays the book on the altar,
bows, and kneels again. It remains a few seconds, and is removed
again in the same manner. A few words are again read from it ;
the cardinals stand, and all together appear talking in the most rapid

ST. PETER'S. 197

manner to each other. They all sit, and chanting commences,
which lasts a few minutes. Twenty-two cardinals present. Robing
and disrobing officiating cardinals. Incense is now puffed four
times before each cardinal ; the attendant bows, puffs four times,
and goes to the next, and so on. A little reading by the officiating
cardinal at the altar. Count Ferroneye among the spectators, with
the three highest orders in Europe on his breast — the Golden Fleece,
the Holy Ghost, and the Grand Cross of St.-Louis. Cardinal Giulio
Maria della Somaglia in state, on an elevated bed of cloth-of-gold
and black, embroidered with gold ; his head on a black-velvet cush
ion, embroided with gold ; dressed in his robes as when alive. He
officiated, I was told, on Ash Wednesday. Four wax-lights, two
on each side of the bed ; room, crimson and gold ; three guards at
the foot of the bed ; great throng of people of all grades through
the suite of apartments — the Cancellerie — in which he lived. They
were very splendid, chiefly of crimson velvet, and damask, and
gold. The cardinal has died unpopular, for he has left nothing to
his servants by his will; he directed, however, that no expense
should be spared in his funeral, wishing that it might be splendid ;
but, unfortunately for him, he has died precisely at that season of
the year (the Holy Week) when alone it is impossible, according to
the Church customs5 to give him a splendid burial.

" Monday r, April 5th. — Visited the Sapienza ; the museum is very
creditable ; the collection of butterflies very complete ; the skele
tons of horse, cow, ram, etc., beautifully prepared ; also the birds ;
a lusus naturce, two children preserved in spirits, united somewhat
similar to the Siamese boys.

" Cabinets of mineralogy and chemistry very good ; the pro
fessor exceedingly polite and attentive. Campidoglio ; part of it a
prison ; prisoners with little bags on the end of rod, like fishing-
lines from the windows. Palatine Hill. Gardens of the Villa Spada,
which are built upon the ruins of the palace of the Caesars ; the gar
dens are now neatly laid out in walks, arched over with trees and
flowering shrubs.

" Tuesday, April 6th. — I amused myself before going into the
Vatican by a walk in St. Peter's ; the various and strange actions"
and scenes that are here witnessed strike a stranger with wonder.
In one of the chapels there is the monotonous chanting of the
priests at their prayers ; all kinds of costumes were seen in various
parts of the church, kneeling in acts of devotion, or in conversation
in groups; boys were carrying candlesticks larger than themselves

198 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

to furnish some of the numerous altars ; and at the confessionals
were motley groups, some in the act of confession, others waiting
their turn ; there were ragged beggars and gentlemen, the simply-
dressed nun, with her white-muslin veil, and the gay-colored dames
of the villages of the Sabine Hills.

" Went to the Vatican, and learned that it is shut for ten days.
Took my picture to my room.

" Wednesday, April ^th. — This morning the beggar at the cafe
was an old, gray-bearded man, with a brass box about as large as a
pocket-lantern, and which might easily be mistaken for one ; it was
battered and bright, with the crucifix embossed in front. The old
man sat on one of the seats of the cafe for a moment, opened his
box and counted his receipts ; the largest piece was a one-half
biocchi, and these were few ; he muttered a prayer over them as he
put them back, and tottered out of the house. Went to the Piazza
Navone, being market-day, in search of prints ; the scene here is
very amusing, from the variety of wares exposed, and the confusion
of noises and tongues, and now and then a jackass swelling the
chorus with his most exquisite tones.

" At three o'clock went to St. Peter's to see ceremonies at the
Sistine Chapel. Cardinal asleep ; monotonous bawling, long and
tedious ; candles put out one by one, fourteen in number ; no cere
monies at the altar ; cardinals present, nineteen ; seven yawns from
the cardinals ; tiresome and monotonous beyond description. After
three hours of this most tiresome chant, all the candles having been
extinguished, the celebrated ' Miserere ' commenced. It is indeed
sublime, but I think loses much of its effect from the fatigue of
body, and mind, too, in which it is heard by the auditors ; the ' Mi
serere ' is the composition of the celebrated Allegri, and, for giving
the effect of wailing and lamentation, without injury to harmony, is
one of the most perfect of compositions. The manner of sustaining
a strain of concord by new voices, now swelling high, now gradually
decaying away, now sliding imperceptibly into discord, and sud
denly breaking into harmony, is admirable ; the imagination is alive,
and fancies thousands of people in the deepest contrition ; it closed
by the cardinals clapping their hands for the earthquake.

" Thursday. Morning, April 8th. — Holy Thursday; rose early,
and at eight o'clock rode to St. Peter's and ascended the long night
of steps to the Vatican ; placed ourselves in the crowd of ladies and
gentlemen, ready to rush into the Sistine Chapel the moment, it
should open. The Swiss Guards were this day dressed in bright hel-

THE SISTINE CHAPEL. 199

mets of steel, with breastplates of the same material, and some of
their officers with the ancient armor upon their shoulders and arms.
After waiting some time, the door of the chapel was opened, and,
after a few privileged persons were admitted, all were allowed to pass,
that is to say, if they had on a black coat and white cravat and
black pantaloons ; a brown coat or a frock coat found very little
favor ; sometimes they passed, if it was accompanied with a Ger
man voice, that language being the language of the Swiss Guards.
A few gentlemen were allowed to go into the strangers' box, within
the grating, where, on former occasions, I fortunately got, but to
day was too late. I therefore, with Mr. C L, of Alexandria, and

Mr. Salisbury, took my stand in that part of the chapel which is
nearest the door ; here, on the right where you enter, the ladies are
permitted to see the ceremonies. We waited long, and at length
ascertained there would be a tedious chant, after which there would
be a procession of the Host into the Pauline Chapel to be buried.
We left the crowded Sistine Chapel and took our places behind the
line of guards extending through the hall between two doors — one
of the Pauline Chapel, the other leading into apartments along the
front of St. Peter's. Here, having waited a long time — it being after
eleven o'clock — a bustle was made in the hall, and the head of a pro
cession made its appearance from one of the doors of the great
hall ; a cross and candles were borne before, and, soon after, a rich
crimson-damask sedan-chair, borne by bearers dressed in the same
materials and colors, in which his Holiness the Pope was seated ; he
passed close to us, and as he passed moved his hand as usual in the
act of blessing. Finding some who were near us had got between
the guards into the procession of ambassadors, etc., and who were
suffering no obstruction, Mr. Cooper and I successfully attempted
the same manoeuvre and mounted the staircase directly after the
pope, and as far as the crimson-and-velvet and gold -furnished chain
ber, temporarily built for the ceremony of the benediction ; here we
were stopped by the guards, but were permitted to stand without
the line, or be in the balcony with the ambassadors, etc., which was
next to and on the left of that at which the pope was to appear.
Having examined the splendid chair on which he was to be borne,
and while he was robing in another apartment, we found that, al
though we might have a complete view of the pope and the cere
monies before and after the benediction, yet the principal effect
was to be seen below ; we therefore left our place at the balcony,
where we could see nothing but the crowd, and hastened below.

200 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

On passing into the hall we were so fortunate as just to be in sea
son for the procession from the Sistine Chapel to the Pauline ; the
cardinals walked in procession two and two, and one bore the Host,
while eight bearers held over him a rich canopy of silver tissue
embroidered with gold. Thence we hastened to the front of St.
Peter's, where in the centre, upon the highest step, we had an
excellent view of the balcony, and, turning round, could see the im
mense crowd which had assembled in the piazza, and the splendid
square of troops which were drawn up before the steps of the church.
Here I had scarcely time to make a hasty sketch, in the broiling sun,
of the window and its decorations, before the precursors of the pope,
the two large feather fans, made their appearance on each side of the
balcony, which was decorated with crimson and gold ; and immedi
ately after the Pope, with his mitre of gold tissue and his splendid
robes of gold and jewels, was borne forward, relieving finely from
the deep crimson darkness behind him. He made the usual sign of
blessing with his two fingers raised ; a book was then held before
him, in which he read, with much motion of his head, for a minute.
He then rose, extending both his arms — this was the benediction —
while at the same moment the soldiers and crowd all knelt, the can
non from the Castle of St. Angelo was discharged, and the bells in
all the churches rung a simultaneous peal ; the effect was exceed
ingly grand, the most imposing of all the ceremonies I have wit
nessed. The pope was then borne back again. Two papers were
thrown from the balcony, for which there was a great scramble
among the crowd.

" From this ceremony we went into the chapel to witness the
washing of feet of the pilgrims. Thirteen persons dressed in white,
with white caps, some with long beards, were seated upon a high
seat on one side of the chapel. After the usual pushing and squeez
ing for places I got near enough to see the ceremony. A chant
commenced, during which the pope (or it might have been a cardi
nal, for his face being in profile I could not discern accurately) be
gan by washing, or rather touching with water, the foot of the first
pilgrim, wiping it with the towel which an attendant bore, and then,
kissing the foot, presented a large bouquet of flowers to that pil
grim, and so on through the whole ; it lasted but a few minutes.
From this place, which was opposite the Sistine Chapel, we went
into the Pauline Chapel to see the Holy Sepulchre ; this was splen
didly illuminated with hundreds of wax-candles disposed in a most
effective manner. Thence we came down into St. Peter's, and

FEET-WASHING. 201

upon the steps found a procession of pilgrims, male and female, of
all ranks, and kinds, and countries, about to enter the church ; we
looked into the church ; the great altar was dismantled, and all the
lamps out before it ; most if not all the candles of the other altars,
being collected in one of the side chapels, were brilliantly illumi
nating a dark part of the church.

" From these ceremonies we took some rest by walking through
the splendid galleries of the Vatican, which are thrown open to the
public throughout, into the garden of the Vatican, rich with flowers
and orange-trees, and lemon-trees, and other tropical fruits; a large
copper pineapple, upon a pedestal in front of a high, deep niche,
makes a distinguished figure, and an ancient ship as a fountain is a
large toy on the other side of the Vatican.

" After dinner went again to St. Peter's to hear the music ; the
' Miserere ' was exquisitely performed in the side-chapel, quite equal,
I thought, to that in the Sistine Chapel the evening before.

" We next went to the Convent of the Trinita di Pellegrini to
see the pilgrims having their feet washed and eating their supper.
A long hall, perhaps two hundred feet in length, was set out on
each side with a row of tables, which were to be served by cardinals
and nobles, who were to wait on the pilgrims. In another apart
ment, into which we were too late to enter, there were about three
hundred pilgrims, who had their feet washed and were waiting for
their supper. They were soon after ushered into the supper-room ;
they were a most strange company, ragged, and dirty, and unshaven ;
their food was plentifully and indeed I may say luxuriously pre
pared for them — a thick, apparently nice soup, fish and salad, wine,
figs, apples, etc. Before eating th'ey all rose, and a blessing appeared
to be asked by some one of the cardinals, and while they were eat
ing a man from a box at one side of the room, like an orchestra-box,
read what seemed to be a sermon. Each end of the table was dec
orated with flowers. I asked one from one of the princely waiters,
and he politely gave me two, which I preserved.

" We went into the church ; an altar was splendidly illuminated,
and at a side-altar the crucifix was laid upon the ground on cushions.
Before it hundreds knelt to kiss it, and there was a plate to receive
money. In returning home, visited the Pantheon and the Church
of St. Andrea de la Valle, where were similar ceremonies. Saw also
the shops of the bacon and cheese venders illuminated ; in one was
a small fountain playing. The bacon was tastily arranged, the flitches
looking like large leaves of books and gilt. A recess, with looking-

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE.

glasses at the end, gave the appearance of an almost endless vista
of lights.

" In the Via Portugese is " a house which always has at night a
lamp in the corner of the eves, from the following occurrence : A
gentleman, who lived in the house some years ago, had an orang
outang, which one day got loose, and, finding the child of the gentle
man, seized it and rushed to the top of the house with it before he
was discovered ; when first seen he was with the child on the corner
of the house, and threatening every moment to throw the child into
the street. He was, however, arrested in his intention, and the child
was saved. In commemoration of the event he during his life kept
a light burning on the corner, and left by his will a sufficient sum to
maintain it after his decease.

" Friday r, April 9th. — All the morning was spent in endeavor
ing to find places where we had been informed were the most in
teresting ceremonies of the day, but we were disappointed. At
one o'clock we went to the church of St. Sylvestro in Capite, to
witness the service of the tre ore of agony. As its name indicates,
it was three hours in length ; the church was hung with black. A
temporary pulpit was erected at one side, from which a fleshy friar
harangued the people with much gesticulation ; opposite him was
the orchestra, which at intervals gave good music, but the harangue
of the priest in the intermission was so long and monotonous, re
lieved by a priest in another pulpit, who read in a dull, school-boy
tone, that I was glad to make my retreat — I had seen enough. The
priest's eloquence was of the same kind I had before heard, his
words coming forth like water from a narrow-necked flask. We
went in search of the Greek church ; finding no service, went to
St. Peter's, passing a long procession of monks, in black hoods, with
staves surmounted by death's heads, and a girdle of beads and a
cross, also surmounted with death's heads ; they had on the hood,
or mask, having all the face covered but the eyes ; they sang or
rather croaked as they went, c with solemn step and slow.' When
we arrived at St. Peter's, the ceremonies were performing in the
choir; the tiresome chant, which had been in continuation for nearly
the three hours, rightly called the three hours of agony, was nearly
drawing to a conclusion, three lights, of the fifteen, alone remain
ing unextinguished. These fifteen lights, by-the-by, represent the
twelve Apostles and the three Marys (in brown wax-candles, to
signify mourning) ; their extinguishment, the desertion of all, one
after another, but Mary the Virgin ; this is the centre candle, and,

LYING IN STATE. 203

when all are extinguished but this, it is removed, still burning,
behind the altar ; the ' Miserere ' then commences. We heard the ex
quisite 'Miserere? and afterward went toward the high altar, with
the crowd, to witness the showing of the sacred relics, from a
balcony some sixty or seventy feet above the crowd. A priest with
two attendants made his appearance ; a row of seven or eight wax-
candles was upon the balustrade, and presently he held up a glit
tering mass of something that looked like a jeweled cap or crown.
This was the spear, the very spear which pierced the side of our
Saviour ; the priest walked backward and forward in the balcony
with it, for a moment, and then retired ; he then came forth with a
small cross also jeweled, and paced up and down in the same man
ner ; this was a piece of the genuine cross. Next he brought out
a splendidly jeweled frame containing the portrait of a head ; this
was St. Veronica's handkerchief with which she wiped the Saviour's
face in going to the cross, and which received the impression of his
features upon it. The distance, from any one in the crowd, of these
relics of course prevented any examination or inquiry. This being
ended, we returned home, and, after dinner, went again to the Trinita
di Pelligrini to see what I omitted seeing last evening — the washing
of the pilgrims' feet. This was in a room near the supper-hall. We
arrived in season, and found that this was a bona-fide washing of
feet, tubs being provided for each pilgrim, and cardinals and others
were literally performing the ceremony of washing their feet for
them. On our way to St. Peter's I ought to have noticed our visit
to a palace in which another cardinal (the third who has died
within a few days) was lying in state — Cardinal Bertazzoli. The
apartments of this cardinal seemed to be very bare of furniture —
whether usually so, or stripped for the occasion, I know not. The
room in which he lay was very splendid — of crimson and gold — as
were also the other rooms ; he was upon a high bed of cloth-of-gold
tissue, under a rich canopy of crimson velvet embroidered with
flowers of gold, and with gold lace at the side ; candles of wax were
in high candlesticks, at his feet a crucifix, and basin of holy water
with a little brush to sprinkle it. Priests were just about to en
gage in chanting a requiem when we left. Ever since the benedic
tion, all the bells in the city have been silent, and all the guards
have their muskets reversed. In returning from the Trinita di Pel
legrini, the shops of those that sell bacon, cheese, and lard, struck
us with the splendor and ingenuity of their decorations ; besides
innumerable lamps, and candles, and tinsel and gilding of the bacon

204 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

and hams, there was in the Piazza, Pallarola a shop, which had in
the window a group of sculpture, made entirely of lard, and of
the size of life, representing a child riding upon a goat, while an
other child is pulling back the goat by the tail. The action of the
whole was very spirited, and the figures, and animal, and all things
considered, exceedingly well done, especially the struggling of the
goat to go forward, and the determined effort of the child to pre
vent him.

" Friday, April 16th. — At the Vatican all day. I went to the
soiree of the sister Persianis in the evening. There I had the pleas
ure of meeting, for the first time, with THOKWALDSEN, the great
Danish sculptor, the first now living. He is an old man in ap
pearance, having a profusion of gray hair, wildly hanging over his
forehead and ears. His face has a strong northern character, his
eyes are light gray, and his complexion sandy. He is a large man,
of perfectly unassuming manners and of most amiable deportment.
Daily receiving homage from all the potentates of Europe, he is
still without the least appearance of ostentation. He readily as
sented to a request to sit for his portrait, which I hope soon to take.
The soiree this evening had several other distinguished persons
from various countries present. From Sweden, from England, from
France, from Switzerland, and from America, there were represent
atives. The young ladies sang and played beautifully on the harp
and piano ; the older people of the party played cards, as stupidly
as card-players in all other countries.

"Monday, April V^tJi. — Went to the Vatican. In passing
through the Via del' Orso, near the Ponte St. Angelo, I saw quite a
romantic scene, if it had been at a more romantic hour. A young
man with his guitar was sitting near a window playing, while a
very pretty girl was with the greatest vivacity singing to him. The
old people were listening, while they were employed in their do
mestic engagements, spinning and ironing.

" Visited Thorwaldsen at his house, in the Via Sistina, on the
Pincian Hill. He was at home, and showed me his private collec
tion of pictures, some ancient, but mostly modern, and very fine, in
landscape particularly, for I was unprepared to find so good land
scape-painters among the moderns in Italy — they were not Italians,
however. I was shown three rooms ; the last was the private study
of Thorwaldsen, where I found a bass-relief in progress in the clay.

" Tuesday, April %!th. — My birthday. How time flies, and to
how little purpose have I lived ! Engaged at home in painting.

PORTRAIT OF THORWALSDEN. 205

In going to dinner, observed what I have often before seen, a group
of men playing at moro, which consists in two persons striking
down the hand together, with any number of the fingers extended,
and each calling out in the same breath the number they suppose
to make the whole number of fingers of both their hands added
together ; he that guesses right is the winner.

"Friday, April 3Qtk. — A funeral procession passed the house
tc-day. On the bier, exposed, as is customary here, was a beautiful
young girl, apparently of fifteen, dressed in rich laces and satins,
embroidered with gold, and silver, and flowers, tastefully arranged,
and sprinkled also with real flowers, and at her head was placed a
coronet of flowers. She had more the appearance of sleep than of
death. No relative appeared near her ; the whole seemed to be
conducted by the priests and monks, and those hideous objects in
white hoods, with faces covered, except two holes for the eyes.

"Monday, September 20th. — Began the portrait of the cele
brated sculptor, Thorwaldsen. He is a most amiable man, and is
universally respected. He is the greatest sculptor of the age. I
have studied his works ; they are distinguished for simple dignity,
just expression, and truth in character and design ; the composition
is also characterized by simplicity. These qualities combined en
dow them with that beauty which we so much admire in the works
of Greece, whether in literature or art. Thorwaldsen cannot be
said to imitate the antique ; he rather seems to be one born in the
best age of Grecian art, imbued with the spirit of that age, and
producing from his own resources kindred works. One of his prin
cipal works is a bass-relief of ' The Triumph of Alexander,' executed
for a nobleman, who intended it for his splendid mansion on the
Lago di Como. Before the work was completed, however, the
marquis died, and his son, the present marquis, not inheriting the
taste or disposition of his father, has offered it fcr sale.

" Thorwaldsen has just completed the monument of Pope Pius
VII., which is now erecting in St. Peter's. It consists of a mauso
leum in the Egyptian order, on the top of which is a colossal figure
of the pope, seated in the papal chair, and with his right hand
raised in the attitude of giving the benediction ; on each side of
the great door of the tomb is a colossal female figure, the one For
titude and the other Wisdom. His studios are in the Palazzo Bar-
berini ; they are very extensive, and are literally filled with the
works of this great man. He has executed many colossal works :
a statue of Copernicus, of the Emperor Alexander of Russia, sev-

206 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

eral colossal horses. Next to his ' Triumph of Alexander,' which is,
perhaps, his most colossal work, his ' St. John preaching,' which is a
series of nine statues and groups, is the most beautiful. The dig
nity and earnest zeal of the preacher, the various listeners, admira
bly selected from nature, the group of children observing a dog,
alone inattentive among the audience, are all well conceived, and
make the series one of the most interesting pieces of sculpture in
the world."

This portrait of Thorwaldsen was completed" by Morse, and
sent by the painter to Philip Hone, Esq., of New York, who
had commissioned him to paint him a picture for one hundred
dollars. It remained in Mr. Hone's gallery until the sale of his
pictures, after his death. Mr. Wright then became its owner,
and, on the sale of his pictures, in 1868, John Taylor Johnston,
Esq., President of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, bought it for
four hundred dollars. When he learned that Mr. Morse was
very desirous of possessing it again, that he might present it to
the King of Denmark, Mr. Johnston with great cheerfulness
and generosity begged Mr. Morse to accept it. Mr. Morse was
exceedingly grateful, and immediately forwarded it to the Dan
ish monarch, in whose gallery it now hangs. To Mr. Johnston,
on hearing of his great generosity, Mr. Morse wrote the follow
ing letter :

"DRESDEN, SAXONY, January 23, 1868.

" MY DEAR SIR : Your letter of the 6th instant is this moment
received, in which I have been startled by your most generous
offer, presenting me with my portrait of the renowned Thorwald
sen, for which he sat to me in Rome in 1831. I know not in what
terms, my dear sir, to express to you my thanks for this most accept
able gift. I made an excursion to Copenhagen in the summer of
1856, as a sort of devout pilgrimage to the tombs of two renowned
Danes, whose labors in their respective departments — the one, Oer
sted, of Science, the other, Thorwaldsen, of Art — have so greatly
enriched the world. The personal kindness of the late King
Frederick VII., who courteously received me at his castle of Fred-
ericksborg, through the special presentation of Colonel Rastoff,
more recently the Danish minister at Washington ; the hospitalities
of many of the principal citizens of Copenhagen ; the visits to the
tomb and museum of the works of Thorwaldsen, and to the room

GIFT TO THE KING.

in which the immortal Oersted made his brilliant electro-magnetic
discovery; the casual and accidental introduction and interview
with a daughter of Oersted — all created a train of reflections which
prompted me to devise some suitable mode of showing to these
hospitable people my appreciation of their friendly attentions, and I
proposed to myself the presentation to his majesty the King of
Denmark of this portrait of Thorwaldsen, for which he sat to me in
Rome, and with which I knew he was specially pleased. My desire
to accomplish this purpose was further strengthened by the addi
tional attention of the king, at a later period, in sending me the
decoration of his order of the Danebrog. From the moment this
purpose was formed, twelve years ago, I have been desirous of ob
taining this portrait, and watching for the opportunity of possess
ing it again.

" Its history, in brief, is this : Among the commissions given me
on my professional visit of study to Europe, in 1829, prolonged to
the autumn of 1832, was one from the then Mayor of the city of
New York, the late liberal-minded Philip Hone. He put into my
hands one hundred dollars, with the request to paint him a picture
for his gallery, leaving to me the choice of the subject. In Rome,
I became personally acquainted with Thorwaldsen, who not merely
treated me with his usual kindness, but seemed to take unusual
pains to show me little attentions, and specially to seek my com
panionship in his evening walks for recreation on the Pincian Hill.
I ventured to ask him to give me sittings for his portrait, a request
which he promptly granted. The portrait in question is the result.
It was sent to Mr. Hone, and occupied a place in his gallery during
his life. When the gallery, in consequence of his decease, was dis
persed, I was absent from the city, and ignorant of the fact, and
the time of sale, or I should then have competed for its possession.

" For some time I was unable even to ascertain its new possessor.
But at length, from my worthy friend and pupil, D. Huntington,
Esq., I learned that it was in the collection of Mr. Wright, and that
he valued it too highly for the indulgence of any hope that he would
part with it. When, in March of last year, Mr. Wright's collection
was brought to the hammer, I was here in Europe, but was ap
prised by my brother, after the sale, that the portrait of Thorwald
sen was sold for over four hundred dollars, but the name of the
purchaser was not mentioned. In my reply to my brother, I find
this passage : c I don't know whether to be glad or sorry that my
portrait of Thorwaldsen brought so much, for I was watching an

208 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

opportunity of possessing it for myself, and, although rejoiced to
find my picture valued so highly, yet it would seem hard that a
picture for which I received but one hundred dollars could not be
possessed again by its author without paying more than three times
the sum he received for it.'

" This brief history will show you, my dear sir, what a boon
you have conferred upon me. Indeed, it seems like a dream. And
if my most cordial thanks, not merely for the gift, but for the
graceful and generous manner in which it has been offered, is any
compensation, you may be sure they are yours. These are no con
ventional words, but they come from a heart that can gratefully
appreciate the noble sentiments which have prompted your gen
erous act. I have written my brother Sidney E. Morse, and re
quested him to receive for me the portrait. Again thanking you,
my dear sir, I am with gratitude and esteem your friend and
servant,

"SAMUEL F. B. MOKSE.

"To JOHN TAYLOR JOHNSTON, Esq."

When Mr. Morse writes to his brothers from Italy, we find
him occasionally breaking away from the charmed circle of art :

"ROME, January 5, 1831.

" MY DEAK BROTHERS : A short time ago, I asked an Italian
friend of mine to get for me some cuttings of two kinds of grapes
which are celebrated here, that I might send them to the United
States. He has been so obliging as to present me with six vines,
with their roots carefully packed in their natural earth (which, by-
the-by is the Vale of Tempe, Adrian's Villa, Tivoli), and they are
in such fine order, and the season so favorable to send them, that I
have ventured to incur the expense of transmission as they are, to
such of my horticultural friends as I know will take good care of
them, and distribute cuttings (if they should be successful in cul
tivating them) to others, so that these two fine varieties of grapes
may be introduced into the country. They are packed in one par
cel, all their roots being in a tub with earth, moss, etc. But you
will find, after unwinding the cloth which envelops them, the two
kinds separated by being tied round, each three of a kind, with a
separate band. One is the Pergolese grape, the other the Pizzu-
tello. I know not which of each parcel is the Pergolese, or which
is the Pizzutello, but, in separating them, take one from each bunch,
making three pairs, and oblige me by delivering to each of the fol-

IN THE COLISEUM. 209

lowing persons one pair : one to Dr. Ives, of New Haven ; one to
Dr. Hosack ; and one to R V. De Witt, Esq., of Albany."

, 1831.

" We have recently heard of the disasters of the Poles. What
noble people ; how deserving of their freedom ! I must tell you
of an interesting circumstance that occurred to me in relation
to Poland. It was in the latter part of June of last year, just as
I was completing my arrangements for my journey to Naples,
that I was tempted by one of those splendid moonlight even
ings, so common in Italy, to visit once more the ruins of the Co
liseum. I had frequently been to the Coliseum in company, but
now I had the curiosity to go alone — I wished to enjoy, if pos
sible, its solitude, and its solemn grandeur, unannoyed by the pres
ence of any one. It was eleven o'clock when I left my lodgings,
and no one was walking at that hour in the solitary streets of
Rome. From the Corso to the Forum, all was as still as in a
deserted city. The ruins of the Forum, the temples and pillars,
the Arch of Titus, and the gigantic arcade of the Temple of Peace,
seemed to sleep in the grave-like stillness of the air. The only
sound that reached my ears was that of my own footsteps. I
slowly proceeded, stopping occasionally and listening, and enjoying
the profound repose, and the solemn, pure light, so suited to the
ruined magnificence around me. As I approached the Coliseum,
the shriek of an owl and the answering echo broke the silence for
a moment, and all was still again. I reached the entrance, before
which paced a lonely sentinel, his arms flashing in the moonbeams.
He abruptly stopped me, and told me I could not enter. I asked
him why. He replied that his orders were to let no one pass. I
told him I knew better, that he had no such orders, that he was
placed there to protect visitors, and not to prevent their entrance,
and that I should pass. Finding me resolute (for I knew by ex
perience his motive was merely to extort money), he softened in his
tone, and wished me to wait until he could speak to the sergeant of
the guard. To this I assented, and, while he was gone, a party of
gentlemen approached also to the entrance. One of them, having
heard the discourse between the sentinel and myself, addressed me.
Perceiving that he was a foreigner, I asked him if he spoke English.
He replied, with a slight accent, ' Yes, a little ; you are an English
man, sir.' ' No,' I replied, { I am an American, from the United
States.' £ Indeed ! ' said he, ' that is much better,' and, extending
14

210 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

his hand, he shook me cordially by the hand, adding, * I have a
great respect for your country, and I know many of your country
men.' He then mentioned Dr. Jarvis, and Mr. Cooper, the novelist,
the latter of whom he said was held in the greatest estimation in
Europe, and nowhere more so than in his country, Poland, where
his works were more sought after than those of Scott, and his mind
was esteemed of an equal, if not of a superior cast. This casual
introduction of literary topics furnished us with ample matter for
conversation while we were not engaged in contemplating the sub
lime ruins over which, when the sentinel returned, we climbed. I
asked him respecting the literature of Poland, and particularly if
there were now any living poets of eminence. He observed, 4 Yes,
sir, I am happily traveling in company with the most celebrated
of our poets, Meinenvitch ; ' and who as I understood him was one
of the party walking in another part of the ruins. Engaged in
conversation, we left the Coliseum together, and slowly proceeded
into the city. I told him of the deep interest with which Poland
was regarded in the United States, and that her heroes were spoken
of with the same veneration as our own. As some evidence of this
estimation, I informed him of the monuments erected by the cadets
of West Point, our Polytechnic School, to the memory of Kos-
ciusko. With this intelligence he was evidently much affected ; he
took my hand, and exclaimed with great enthusiasm, and emphati
cally, ' We, too, sir, shall be free ; the time is coming ; we too shall
be free, my unhappy country will be free.' (This was before the
revolution in France.) As I came to the street where we were
to part, he took out his note-book, and, going under the lamp of a
Madonna, near the Piazza Colonna, he wished me to write my name
for him, among the other names of Americans which he had treas
ured in his book. T complied with his request. In bidding me
adieu, he said, ' It will be one of my happiest recollections of Rome,
that the last night which I passed in this city was passed in the
Coliseum, and with an American, a citizen of a free country. If you

should ever visit Warsaw, pray inquire for Prince ; I shall be

exceedingly glad to see you ! ' Thus I parted with this interesting
Pole. That I should have forgotten a Polish name, pronounced but
once, you will not think extraordinary. The sequel remains to be
told. When the Polish Revolution broke out, what was my surprise
to find the poet Meinenvitch, and a prince whose name seemed like
that which he pronounced to me, and to which was added, ' just
returned from Italy,' among the first members of the provisional

RETURN TO PARIS. 211

government ! When the first news of the revolution in Poland
reached Rome, it was in the highest degree interesting to witness the
strong feeling and enthusiasm which animated the Poles who were
on a visit to Italy. When they met each other, they embraced, and
the tears would flow down their cheeks, while they vowed to each
other to return home immediately to fight for their country. Some
English friends of mine called to see two Polish gentlemen, one an
artist, who were both packing up to go home, full of nothing but
zeal for the cause of their beloved country. In taking leave, the
Englishmen expressed a hope that they should meet again. ' No,
no,' said they, c never on earth, we go to die for our country ; we
shall meet in heaven.' "

The studies of Mr. Morse in public and private galleries,
minutely described in Ms sketch-books, were continued with in
dustry and zeal in several cities of Italy. His letters to his
brothers, and to other relatives in the United States, contained
detailed accounts of his work with the brush, and his studies
among the old masters wherever he found them ; denying him
self society in which he would have indulged with the greatest
enjoyment, had not time appeared to him too precious to spend
on any thing but the acquisition of knowledge that should be
useful in his art, he made himself thoroughly acquainted with
every department of his profession.

In the autumn of 1831 he went to Paris, and, having estab
lished himself in very modest quarters, No. 29 Rue de Tu-
renne, near the Madeleine, he began to copy in the Louvre.
His friends Greenough and Cooper often wrote to him, and
their letters give glimpses of life abroad. From Florence, Mr.
Greenough writes :

" As for the commission from Government, I don't speak of it
yet. After about a fortnight I shall be calm, I think. Morse, I have
made up my mind on one score, viz., that this order shall not be
fruitless to the greater men who are in our rear. They are sucking
now and rocking in cradles, but I can hear the pung ! pung ! puffetty !
of their hammers, and I am prophetic, too ! We'll see if Yankee-
land can't muster some ten or a dozen of them in the course of as
many years 1 If you go home, you will be married ; if you are mar
ried, you will stay there. Pray, advertise for me when you get
there : Wanted. — A young woman of knowledge without being

212 LIFE OF SAMUEL B. F. MORSE.

aware of it ; very humble at finding herself proud ; a blond, and in
clining to the petite, not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serv
ing the Lord. — My love to Mr. Cooper, and my respectful regards
to the family. Ever thine, HOEATIO G ."

" Accept my warmest thanks for your sympathy — the interest
you express in my welfare fills no small portion of the void which
my troubles may have made in my heart. As for my kind friends
in the Rue St. Dominique, may the Disposer of events send them
thousands of such sensations as I experienced when I read what you
say of their regret at my difficulties ! But I will hope that by exer
tion I may reach a point where to feel interest in me shall not be
to suffer. You mention a certain plan, but you roll it under your
tongue again in the most tantalizing way. Why won't you, in your
next, sketch with your pen the plan of your picture, for I'm not sure
I understand it ; that is, if indeed you meant I should ? I don't wish
to beg a secret.

" You were right, I had heard of the resolution submitted to
Congress, etc. ; Mr. Cooper wrote me about it. I have not much
faith in Congress, however. I will confess that, when the spectre
Debt has leaned over my pillow of late, and, smiling ghastlily, has
asked me if she and I were not intended as companions through life,
I snap my fingers at her and tell her that Brother Jonathan talks of
adopting me, and that he won't have her of his household. f Go to
London, you hag,' says I, ' where they say you're handsome and
wholesome ; don't grind your long teeth at me, or I'll read the
Declaration of Independence to ye ! ' So you see I make uncertain
hopes fight certain fear, and borrow from the generous, good-natured
Future the motives for content which are denied me by the stinted
Present. I still continue to think that another year will find me
somewhere in Germany. I must cut through the snarl into which
four years have wound my relations, and come smack on my feet.
I'm afraid of a habit, and the habit of being assisted is one of the
most ruinous.

" In the mean while I'm trying to mix a little with the world, and
to learn how to behave myself. I have hitherto read my Dante, etc.,
and when thrown into contact with folk have gotten through as
quick as possible, with the idea that every word spared was so much
clear gain ; but I now find that a man needs a circle of acquaintance,
and have already made several pleasant acquisitions in this way.

" What shall I say in answer to your remarks on my opinions ?

BUNKER HILL MONUMENT. 213

Shall I go all over the ground again ? It were useless. That my
heart is wrong in a thousand ways I daily feel, but 'tis my stubborn
head which refuses to comprehend the creation as you comprehend
it. That we should be grateful for all we have, I feel — for all we
have is given us ; nor do I think we have little ; for my part I would
be blessed in mere existence were I not goaded by a wish to make
my one talent two ; and we have Scripture for the rectitude of such
a wish. I don't think the stubborn resistance of the tide of ill-for
tune can be called rebellion against Providence. ' Help yourself,
and Heaven will help you,' says the proverb. When Leonidas stood
with his three hundred in the gap against the tide of Persian tyr
anny, was his a rebellion against the decree that doomed his coun
try to defeat ? No, he stood there to see it done, and to decimate
his conquerors according to the decree of the Disposer of all. I
suppose you have Brisbane with you by this time with several new
German syllogisms. If the truth were known, that fellow went to
Berlin to refit after the battering his metaphysics had received at
your hands. Hateful word that same metaphysics. Let's have
reasoning till all's blue, but let's have hold of something. Let's
have Poetry, too ; for she raises our motives instead of poisoning
them ; she makes another world, instead of topsy-turvying this.

" There hangs before me a print of the Bunker-Hill Monument.
Pray, be judge between me -and the building committee of that
monument. (See illustration on page 214.)

" There you observe that my model was founded solidly, and on
each of its square plinths were trophies, or groups, or cannon, as
might be thought fit. (No. 1.) Well, they have taken away the foun
dation, made the shaft start sheer from the dirt like a spear of as
paragus, and, instead of an acute angle, by which I hoped to show
the work was done, and lead off the eye, they have made an obtuse
one, producing the broken-chimney-like effects, which your eye will
not fail to condemn in No. 2. Then they have inclosed theirs with
a light, elegant fence, d la Parigina, as though the austere forms
of Egypt were compatible with the decorative flummery of the
Boulevards. Let 'em go for dunderheads, as they are !

" I'm remodeling Washington ; the old model was made too
long since to repeat any more. Harry is painting, and is quite a
favorite with his master. The boy grows fast ; I have great hopes
of him. Gore is painting his mud portrait very well ; he maybe
found at any time of the day with one of the mud-heavers of the
Arno for a model ; a red-headed, long-bearded, fiery-faced, green-

214

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

eyed fellow, that has killed his man and cuts all his bread with a
pointed knife two inches longer than the law directs. Gore has
imagination; he feels character. I have the promise of certain
drawings for the Academy ; your bust and Cole's have both gone,
directed to Mr. Morton. Cole is probably in Naples. My 4 Lafay
ette ' is boxed without a stain. I congratulate you on your sound

BUNKER-HTLL MONUMENT

conscience with regard to the affair that you wot of. As for your
remaining free, that's all very well to think during the interregnum ;
but a man without a true love is a ship without ballast, a one-tiried
fork, half a pair of scissors, an utter flash in the pan. Will you give
my love to the Coopers, and say to Mr. C. that I have received his
note, and am awaiting his letter, of which he speaks !

"HORATIO GKEENOUGH."

"FLORENCE, July 19, 1832.

" Yours of the 9th reached me yesterday and stopped my grum
bling. I could find but one excuse for your silence, and that was
too painful to be admitted, even as a conjecture, viz., that you had
been drawn by the crowd into some tremendous row, and made a

AMERICAN ARTISTS ABROAD. 215

revolutionary figure at the expense of all your friends. I don't
doubt you will profit by your exhibition, and I have every hope of
your receiving some handsome commission. I have written to the
Government my terms ; if they are accepted I shall have a proposi
tion to make. We will have a knot of us here, which shall form an
epoch, by the beard of Jupiter Flaminius ! I see by the papers that
some fellow has attacked me ; says I'm an educated man, allied with
literati, and possess every means of doing myself honor; it's a
heavy charge, is it not ? I suppose he hints I have not made use
of these advantages ; but he's too quick, let him wait a little. All
this is as it should be ; let 'em spare my character, and they may call
me dunce to doomsday, and I'll be half ready to say, amen ! As to
going home in October, I'd give my little finger to do so, but I don't
think it possible.

" If I can muster the cash I'll come to say good-by to ye as far
as Paris ; but I'll say beforehand that I shall be a blockhead, for I
know I shall come moping back with a face as long as an ox-bow.
So Cooper is gone to take another pull at Johannisberg ; much good
may it do him ; God bless him ! I begin to doubt if ever I shall leave
Italy ; they write me that artists stand as ignorantly with the pub
lic as ever. If I return it will be to marry and become citizen, and
I won't do that unless I can stand on fair ground. I've just mod
eled a statue half the size of life. Here he is : ' The Genius of
America ' holding out the bud of promise and pointing to posterity.
I made such a mess with the head in small that I have done it
larger, to give you a little notion of the expression. I must close
this. Crank is in Venice, with W. and Alexander ; W. is not a
man after my heart; he is corrupt, depend on it; I have been
obliged to haul off5 for he assumed intimacy of the closest kind.
Cole is painting away up-stairs ; Gore is recovered. My love to
Cooper, and my respectful salutation to the lilies of his household.
Thine till the Dr. has had his wicked will of me.

" HORATIO GREENOTTGH."

"FLORENCE, August 20, 1832.

" My eyes have been opened painfully, within a year, to the
perception of the light in which artists are held, all the world over.
In Italy they deserve it. You can speak of France and England
better than myself; but, in America, they do not deserve it. They
are quite equal in knowledge, and light, and character, to the mass
of the most refined classes, and are totally above the rabble. You

•THE GENIUS OF AMKEICA.

GREENOUGH'S LETTER. 217

have had a proof, in your own experience, how completely the title
of artist throws into the shade the qualities and the virtues which
ought to have secured your pride from any wound. Your experi
ence, then, will make you (as you are a man) safe in future. I
know Congress too well to think much better of the prospects of art
now than I did formerly. 'Tis not the money we want, 'tis the
consideration a'nd weight. The money comes then, of course, as it
does to men of other respectable callings. Now, I choose to reside
in old Europe, and live secluded, and try to respect myself, rather
than be waiting at the doors of the rich, at home, for the vain, or
patronizing, or pitying proofs of their superabundance. If I am
disappointed of my statue, off I go to Germany. If I do not get
the order, good-by to the drudgery of the trade. I will make one
statue, and go about my business, i. e., provided the country re
mains as ignorant on this point as now. Let me beg of you to
hang on to the conception of the departure and return of Columbus.
You are perfectly qualified to do honor to the country in such works,
and should never give up the plan. Hang on like Columbus him
self. You could make the first a grand picture in character and
effect of composition ; you would embody in the second all your
scheme of color and chiaro-oscuro. These subjects are yours, you
are theirs ; have faith, and fear not. Cole is driving through, to get
ready to go home, next month, via Leghorn. He intended to have
remained here another year, had commissions in abundance, and
was under full sail, when he got news of sad domestic affliction,
sickness, and (you know the other word), so, like the glorious fellow
he is, he sent home his spare cash, and is getting ready to follow it,
to struggle with all your difficulties, and mine, with a family on his
shoulders. He has painted several things of high merit, and a
' Campagna di Roma? which is a master-piece in the middle and
back grounds. Cole knows as well the value and power of art as
any man, and only wants the pou sto to be a great man in art.
Will he ever get it ? I hope so ; but, if he does, Fortune will give
it him, without raising her bandage from her eyes.

" So you are going home, my dear Morse, and God knows if
ever I shall see you again. Pardon, I pray you, any thing of levity
which you may have been offended at in me. Believe me, it arose
from my so rarely finding one to whom I could be natural, and give
loose, without fear of good faith or good-nature ever failing.
Wherever I am, your approbation will be dearer to me than the
hurrah of a world.

218

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" I shall write to glorious Fenimore in a few days. My love to
Allston and Dana. God bless you ! H. GKEENOUGH."

m

GKEENOUGH'S WASHINGTON.

"FLORENCE, November 18, 1832.

. ..." I have finished my design for the statue in clay, half size
of life, and the drawing will in a few days be ready to send to

JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. 219

Washington. I have had the greatest difficulty in finding a place big
enough to do the work in. At one time I feared I should be obliged
to go to Rome ; however, I am at length suited, and shall have my
man-mountain up by the close of February, if not sooner. I will
give you a scratch to convey a general notion of the composition. I
can't say I have fixed any thing, still it will require strong reasons
to change the general action it has seemed to me characteristic of
the man. I had and still have the notion of making him hold the
sword, as (see p. 218) in the sketch on the other leaf, but I fear it
will not be so distinct as I made it in the first sketch ; the arm
would almost entirely hide it, you observe, as seen in front. We
shall see how it pleases at headquarters. I suppose Mr. Cooper is
with you before this : God bless him ! Pray, ask him to write
me, if it were only a few words ; I should be so happy to see his
hand once more. ... H. G."

James Fenimore Cooper, the American novelist, was at
this time in Europe, with his family ; and, between him and Mr.
Morse a friendship was then formed, which was continued, with
out interruption, until the death of Mr. Cooper. We find a large
number of letters from the novelist to Mr. Morse, rich in them
selves, and the more interesting and entertaining, as they develop
peculiar traits of character in Mr. Cooper, such as would not be
inferred from his published works alone. Some of the brief
notes, too trivial in themselves to be inserted, have a humor
peculiarly beautiful in the intercourse of the men.

James Fenimore Cooper to Mr. Morse.

"July 31, 1832.

"My DEAR MORSE: Here we are at Spa — the famous hard-
drinking, dissipated, gambling, intriguing Spa — where so much
folly has been committed, so many fortunes squandered, and so
many women ruined ! How are the mighty fallen ! We have just
returned from a ramble in the environs, among deserted reception-
houses, and along silent roads. The country is not unlike Ballston,
though less wooded, more cultivated, and perhaps a little more
varied, The town is irregular, small, consisting almost entirely of
lodging-houses (I mean for single families), and infinitely clean. The
water is a tonic, and the air (we are at an elevation of twelve hun
dred feet) so light and bracing that I have determined to stay a
week, on account of my wife — perhaps a fortnight. I have got a

220 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

comfortable house, with every requisite, consisting of nine bed
rooms, four parlors, stable, etc., for fifteen francs a day. The piano
is strumming down-stairs, and I am writing up, just as if we were
in the Rue St. -Dominique, and we only arrived last night. Our
quarantine will be up to-night at twelve, and yet we are in no
hurry to improve it. We lost three days at Li6ge (always in quar
antine) that had much better been passed here.

" I have had a great compliment paid me, Master Samuel, and,
as it is nearly the only compliment I have received in traveling
over Europe, I am the more proud of it. Here are the facts : You
must know there is a great painter in Bruxelles of the name of Ver-
bceck-oven (which, translated into the vernacular, means a lull and
a book baked in.an ovenf), who is another Paul Potter. He out
does all other men in drawing cattle, etc., with a suitable landscape.
In his way, he is truly admirable. Well, sir, this artist did me the
favor to call at Bruxelles with the request that I would let him
sketch my face. He came after the horses were ordered, and, know
ing the difficulty of the task, I thanked him, but was compelled to
refuse. On our arrival at Lie"ge, we were told that a messenger
from the governor had been to inquire for us, and I began to
bethink me of my sins. There was no great cause for fear, how
ever, for it proved Mr. Bull-and-book-baked had placed himself in
the diligence, come down to Liege (sixty-three miles), and got the
governor to give him notice, by means of my passport, when we
came. Of course I sat. I cannot say the likeness is good, for it
has a vastly live-like look, and is like all the other pictures you
have seen of my chameleon face. Let that be as it will, the com
pliment is none the less, and, provided the artist does not mean to
serve me up as a specimen of American wild beasts, I shall thank
him for it. To be followed twelve posts by a first-rate artist, who
is in favor with the king, is so unusual, that I was curious to know
how far our minds were in unison, and so I probed him a little. I
found him well skilled in his art, of course, but ignorant on most
subjects. As respects our general views of men and things, there
was scarcely a point in common, for he has few salient qualities,
though he is liberal ; but his gusto for natural subjects is strong,
and his favorite among all my books is ' The Prairie,' which you
know is filled with wild beasts. Here the secret was out. That
picture of animal nature had so caught his fancy, that he followed
me sixty miles to paint a sketch. He sent me a beautiful pencil-
sketch of the Belgian hind, as a memorial of our achievement,

MANNERS OF THE ENGLISH. 221

which I hope to show you at my return. Wappero is in high re
pute. Mr. Verboeckhoven spoke of him as one would speak of a
master, and with sincere respect. Others did the same.

" King Leopold was at Liege during our stay, as was his brother,
the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, with his two sons. It is
said they all go off together to Campiegne to celebrate the ap
proaching marriage. We had the town illuminated, and a salute
that sounded fearfully like minute-guns.

" August 1st. — We have just made the tour of the springs, for
there are four of them, in a circuit of about five miles, each having,
it is said, a different property, and all tasting as much alike as if it
had been drawn from the two ends of the same barrel. Well, faith
is a comfortable ingredient in a traveler's mind. For my part, I
believe all I hear, which is much the least troublesome mood. As
for the contradictions, I endeavor to forget them.

" We have a delicious air, and rather pretty environs, but the
place is dull as a desert. There are a few English, who pass you
as if they were afraid some tailor had broke loose, and always look
the other way until you are past, and then they are always staring
after you to see if you are somebody. Our indifferent manner never
fails to deceive them, for their quality always give a certain amount
of trust and assume a certain genteel hauteur • none escape these
two rocks in good-breeding but those who are at the top of the
ladder, and these are commonly known by means of fame, which
never fails to blow a trumpet beforehand. 'Tis a thousand pities
that people who have so many really good points, and so much good
sense in general, should be such fools, in these points, as to make
themselves uncomfortable, and everybody else who will submit to
their dictation.

" NONNENWERTH, August 15, 1832.

"MY DEAR MOUSE: Here we are, on an island of the Rhine,
about half-way between Cologne and Coblentz, and in a deserted
convent of Benedictine nuns. I am writing to you, you rogue, in
the ancient refectory, which is now the salle d manger of half a
dozen Fenimore Coopers, with the Rhine rippling beneath my win
dows, the Drachenfels in full view, by pale moonlight, a dozen
feet sounding distant and hollow in the cloisters, and with a bottle
of Liebfrauenmilch at my elbow. The old convent is degraded to
the occupation of a tavern. Our island, if not as important and well
defended as that of Barataria, has some hundred acres, and is al
together a willowish, serpentine, wildish place. Our candles are

222 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

farthing rush-lights, and these, in rooms that need fifty bougies,
leave a sombre and appropriate gloom, so that, with one exception,
I do not remember a more romantic nightfall in all our pilgrimage,
than this. Your friends the Hawkers told us of the place, though
I believe they had never visited it, and we left the carriage on the
main, this afternoon, to come over here for the night. We are quite
alone, which adds to the pleasure, unless we could choose our com
panions. Mrs. C., the girls, Master Paul, and myself, each equipped
with a candle, have just returned from a pilgrimage to the chapel,
where we find most of the necessary ingredients for a funeral or a
marriage, even at this hour ; indeed, it is only ten years since the
last nuns (eight in number) dispersed, so that every thing is quite
fresh and ecclesiastical. To add to the satisfaction, the Benedic
tines were not a rigid order, and all is genteel and nice, as they say
in London. I have this moment quitted the window, and there
was a footstep beneath it. My sight was a little dimmed by rush
lights, and fancy was left to supply the functions of observation.
This might be the soul of the last lady abbess, who no doubt was
fat, and had a solid step, or it might have been some truant nun
scratching at the convent-walls, in a sort of habitual kicking against
the pricks. Alas ! it was only an old horse that appeared to range
at free commons over the isle. Well for the horse, he is not more
than half flesh at the best.

" I am summoned to my cell. Mrs. Cooper has sent her maid to
say I must quit the refectory, where I have tarried an indecent
period already, and I obey. The cloister looks gloomy. A distant
door opens, and a man issues into their vaults. It is my Swiss, who
looks twice, and takes off his traveling cap with academic air, and
the maid skims along with the light. I follow. A door, half open,
gives me a glimpse of four men. They may be banditti, though
they are in the Prussian uniform. A grinning crone meets us on
the flight of heavy steps. And here I am in a cell converted into
a parlor, with a round table under my elbows, and a sofa under my
seat. The adjoining room was formerly the parlor of the lady
abbess, and indeed there is a suite of very respectable apartments,
that show the good woman was well lodged. The voice of Master
Paul is sounding through them irreverent and gay. The wind begins
to murmur, casements to close, and we may have thunder next.
This opinion has proved prophetic, there has arisen a sudden gust,
with lightning. I take a candle and go through the corridors in
quest of a sensation. A door communicating with the gallery of

MR. COOPER'S LETTERS. 223

the chapel is open and I enter, shutting myself in. Here was
what I wanted — images of saints, crucifixes, a dim light, rattling
windows, and solitude. Every thing was so fresh that the stuffed
velvet chair of the lady abbess was near the railing and a prie-dieu
at its side. I took a seat. In few moments the door slowly opened,
and a hag thrust her wrinkled face into the gallery. I groaned,
whether it was with fear or fun I leave you to guess, and away the

old woman went as if the was after her. I withdrew like a

well-bred ghost that has delivered his message. * But how came
you in the convent ? ' you may be disposed to inquire.

" We found that the water of Spa did so much good to Mrs.
Cooper, that we remained until last Monday ; we then came to Aix
— next day to Cologne, and to-day here. We are on our way to
Switzerland. If you want change of air, jump into the diligence,
and come to Berne, where we will give you rooms for the last of
the month. I do not expect to see Paris before this day month.

" 'Tis near midnight, Mr. Morse, all but Nature is asleep, and I
have been walking in the long and empty corridors. Strange
thoughts come uppermost in such a place, and at such a time,
Master Samuel ; the rustling of the wind seems as the murmuring
of uneasy sisters, the pattering of the rain like floods of tears,
and the thunder sounds as so many gemissements at the sins of man.
I seek my pillow.

" Thursday Morning. — Laus Deo! a peaceable night, and a
refreshing morn, birds singing beneath my window, the Rhine
glittering between islands, the arch of Rolandseck tottering on a
mountain near, and the tower of the Drachenfels on another. We
dress and perambulate. I have been pacing the dimensions of our
abode. The abbey pile extends six hundred feet in one direction,
and about three hundred in another. The cloisters are about six
hundred feet round. There are offices to a goodly extent, and cow-
yard and granaries ; on the whole it is a capital thing, for one night,
taking Drachenfels and Rhine into the count. The Liebfrauen-
milch is but questionable, though the fruits are excellent for the
latitude.

"RUDESHEIM, IN THE DFCHY OF NASSAU, Friday, Ylih. —
Here I am finishing this letter in a tower, actually built by the
Goths, at least so says tradition. It is an appendage of the inn,
and forms part of our apartment, giving two or three stories of
very romantic-looking little round rooms. We left the convent on
Thursday and went to Coblentz, and to-day we came to Bingen, and

224: LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

crossed the Rhine in boats to this tower. We are in the midst of
good wine. Johannisberg is in plain view from my window, Stein
berg a league or two off, Geisenheim and other notabilities, all within
call. My landlord has given me a bottle of cordial that he tells me
he has from his own vines. In short, this is the country for your
lover of the true Rhenish, which you know means me.

" There is mention made, in the introduction of ' Heidenmauer,'
of a castle belonging to a Prince of . Well, we passed it to
day, and ascended the mountain. The prince had just gone to Co
logne, and we had a clear field. Really the spot is bewitching ; he
has repaired an old baronial castle, and equipped it completely in
baronial style. The buildings are several hundred feet above the
river, and as irregular as heart could wish. One high tower has
the beacon-light swung off, as in the middle ages, and there are
balconies and outside staircases in them to turn the head of even
a sailor. The furniture is either many hundred years old, or made
to imitate articles of that age — chiefly the former ; plenty of old
armor, and the knights' hall is really a curiosity. The fireplace is
as big as a Paris bedroom, and in one corner is a very ancient
vessel to hold water, with a trough of stone to catch the drippings ;
most of the wood is oak. In short, the whole thing is in keep
ing — stained glass, casements, and other niceties — I wish you had
been with us. I have never seen any thing in its way to equal it.
The prince had been passing several weeks in this aerie. You can
look down perpendicularly, from various terraces, balconies, and
towers, three or four hundred feet.

" Yours truly,

"J. FENIMOEE COOPEE.
" Master MORSE."

On the 18th of September, 1831, Mr. Morse wrote to Ms
brothers from Paris :

"I arrived safely in this city on Monday noon in excellent
health and spirits ; my last letter to you was from Venice, just as I
was about to leave it, quite debilitated and unwell from application
to my painting, but more, I believe, from the climate, from the per
petual sirocco which reigned uninterrupted for weeks. I have not
time now to give you an account of my most interesting journey
through Lombardy, Switzerland, part of Germany, and through the
eastern part of France. I found, on my arrival here, my friend Mr.
Greenough, the sculptor, who had come from Florence to model the

FALL OF WARSAW. 335

bust of General Lafayette, and we are in excellent, convenient rooms
together, within a few doors of the good general.

" I called yesterday on General Lafayette early in the morning.
The servant told me that he was obliged to meet the Polish com
mittee at an early hour, and feared he could not see me. I sent in
my card, however, and the servant returned immediately, saying
that the General wished to see me in his chamber. I followed him
through several rooms and entered the chamber. The General was
in dishabille, but, with his characteristic kindness, he ran forward,
and, seizing both my hands, expressed with great warmth how glad
he was to see me safely returned from Italy, and appearing in such
good health. He then told me to be seated, and without any cere
mony began familiarly to question me about my travels, etc. The
conversation, however, soon turned upon the absorbing topic of the
da}r, the fate of Poland, the news of the fall of Warsaw having just
been received by telegraphic dispatch. I asked him if there was
now any hope for Poland. He replied, * Oh, yes ! their cause is not
yet desperate ; their army is safe ; but the conduct of France, and
more especially of England, has been most pusillanimous and culpa-
]ple. Had the English Government shown the least disposition to
coalesce in vigorous measures with France for the assistance of the
Poles, they would have achieved their independence.' The General
looks better and younger than ever. There is a healthy freshness
of complexion, like that of a young man in full vigor, and his frame
and step (allowing for his lameness) are as firm and strong as when
he was our nation's guest. I sat with him ten or fifteen minutes,
and then took my leave, for I felt it a sin to consume any more of
the time of a man engaged as he is in great plans of benevolence,
and whose every moment is therefore invaluable.

" The news of the fall of Warsaw is now agitating Paris to a de
gree not known since the trial of the ex-ministers. About three
o'clock our servant told us that there was fighting at the Palais
Royal, and we determined to go as far as we prudently could, to
see the tumult , we proceeded down the Rue St.-Honore. There
was evident agitation in the multitudes that filled the sidewalks — an
apprehension of something to be dreaded. There were groups at
the corners ; the windows were filled, persons looking out as if in
expectation of a procession or of some ftte. The shops began to be
shut, and every now and then the drum was heard beating to arms.
The troops were assembling, and bodies of infantry and cavalry
were moving through the various streets. During this time no-
15

22o LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

noise was heard from the people — a mysterious silence was ob
served, but they were moved by the slightest breath. If one walked
quicker than the rest, or suddenly stopped, thither the inquiring
look and step were directed, and a group instantly assembled. At
the Palais Royal a larger crowd had collected, and a greater body
of troops were marching and countermarching in the Place du Palais
Royal. The Palais Royal itself had the interior cleared and all
the courts. Every thing in this place of perpetual gayety was now
desolate ; even the fountains had ceased to play, and the seared au
tumnal leaves of the trees, some already fallen^ seemed congruous
with the sentiment of the hour. Most of the shops were also shut
and the stalls deserted. Still there was no outcry, and no disturb
ance. Passing through the Rue Vivienne, the same collections of
crowds and of troops were seen ; some were reading a police notice
just posted on the walls, designed to prevent the riotous assembling
of the people, and advising them to retire when the riot act should
be read. The notice was read with murmurs and groans, and I had
scarcely ascertained its contents before it was torn from the walls
with acclamations.

" As night approached we struck into the Boulevard de la Made
leine. At the comer of this Boulevard and the Rue des Capucines
is the hotel of General Sebastiani. We found before the gates a
great and increasing crowd. We took a position on the opposite
corner, in such a place as secured a safe retreat in case of need, but
allowed us to observe all that passed. Here there was an evident
intention in the crowd of doing some violence ; nor was it at all
doubtful what would be the object of their attack. They seemed to
wait only for the darkness and for a leader. The sight of such a
crowd is fearful, and its movements, as it was swayed by the inci
dents of the moment, were in the highest decree exciting. A body
of troops of the line would pass : the crowd would silently open for
their passage, and close immediately behind them. A body of the
National Guard would succeed, and these would be received with loud
cheers and gratulations. A soldier on guard would exercise a little
more severity than was perhaps necessary for the occasion ; yells
and execrations and hisses would be his reward. Night had now
set in. Heavy dark clouds, with a misty rain, had made the heavens
above. more dark and gloomy. A man rushed forward toward the
gate, hurling his hat in the air and followed by the crowd, which
suddenly formed into long lines behind him. I now looked for some
thing serious. A body of troops were in line before the gate. At

PICTURE OF THE LOUVRE. £37

this moment two police-officers, on horseback, in citizen's dress, but
with a tricolored belt around their bodies, rode through the crowd
and up to the gate, and in a moment after I perceived the multitude
from one of the streets rushing in wild confusion into the boulevard,
and the current of the people setting back in all directions. While
wondering at the cause of this sudden movement I heard the tramp
ling of horses ; and a large body of carabiniers, with their bright
helmets glittering in the light of the lamps, dashed down the street
and drew up before the gate. The police-officers put themselves
at their head, and harangued the people. The address was received
with groans. The carabiniers drew their swords, orders were given
for the charge, and in an instant they dashed down the street, the
people dispersing like the mist before the wind. The charge was
made down the opposite sidewalk from that where we had placed
ourselves, so I kept my station, and, when they returned up the mid
dle of the street to charge on the other side, I crossed over behind
them and avoided them."

Mr. Morse soon began a great work which, after consultation
with Mr. Cooper and other friends, he had determined to under
take. This was no less than painting the interior of the Louvre,
including copies of the most celebrated pictures in the gallery.
To this work he devoted himself with all the ardor of his nature,
expending upon it months of labor. "Writing to his brother,
May 6, 1832, he says :

" My anxiety to finish my picture and to return drives me, I fear,
to too great application and too little exercise ; and my health has,
in consequence, been so deranged that I have been prevented from
the speedy completion of my picture. From nine o'clock until four
daily I paint uninterruptedly at the Louvre ; and, with the closest
application, I shall not be able to finish it before the close of the
gallery, on the 10th of August, and the time each morning before
going to the gallery is wholly employed in preparation for the day ;
and, after the gallery closes at four, dinner and exercise are neces
sary ; so that I have no time for any thing else. The cholera is
raging here, and I can compare the state of mind in each man of us
only to that of soldiers in the heat of battle : all the usual securities
of life seem to be gone. Apprehension and anxiety make the
stoutest hearts quail. Any one feels, when he lays himself down
at night, that he will, in all probability, be attacked before daybreak,

228 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

for the disease is a pestilence that walketh in darkness, and seizes
the greatest number of its victims at the most helpless hour of the
night. Fifteen hundred were seized in a day, and fifteen thousand
at least have already perished, although the official accounts will
not give so great a number.

" May I4:th. — My picture makes progress, and I am sanguine of
success if nothing interferes to prevent its completion I shall take
no more commissions here, and shall only complete my large picture
and a few unfinished works.

" General Lafayette told me a few weeks ago, when I was re
turning with him in his carriage, that the financial condition of the
United States was a subject of great importance^ and he wished that
I would write you and others, who were known as statistical men,
and get your views on the subject. There never was a better time
for demonstrating the principles of our free institutions by showing
a result favorable to our country."

The most of Mr. Morse's evenings were occupied with labor
in behalf of the Poles, whose sufferings at that time excited the
sympathy of the friends of liberty throughout the world. A
committee was organized for the purpose of devising ways and
means to alleviate their condition ; General Lafayette was one
of the members of this committee, and consequently Mr. Morse,
who was also a member, was brought frequently into his society.
In the month of March Mr. Morse writes to his brother : •

" Information has been received by Mr. Rives, our minister from
Berlin, that Dr. S. G. Howe was seized and thrown into prison in
that city by the Prussian Government, charged with a charitable
mission from our committee. Dr. Howe had been intrusted with
twenty thousand francs for the relief of the distressed Poles ; and
his intentions and motives were in no degree political, but in fur
therance of the benevolent designs of the contributors in the United
States. A letter from Berlin, written by A. Brisbane, Esq., and
which Mr. Rives has just read to me, says that Dr. Howe is in close
confinement, and no one is permitted to have communication with
him. Mr. Brisbane waited on the Minister of Justice, and found him
uncompromising, and manifesting great irritation on the subject.
Mr. Cooper and myself have just been to Mr. Rives, who has
promptly put measures in train for causing Dr. Howe to be set at
liberty. We have put into the hands of Mr. Rives a record of our

DR. HOWE'S LIBERATION. 229

proceedings in committee to lay before Baron Werther, the Prus
sian minister here; embracing a. copy of Dr. Howe's commission, in
order to show him that the doctor's mission was not political, and
we are in hopes that such representations will be forwarded to Ber
lin without delay as will cause him to be at once released."

" March V^tJi. — Last night we held a special meeting of our
committee to consider what could be done to release Dr. Howe.
The Prussian authorities here, I am happy to say, have behaved
courteously and acted promptly. A courier has been dispatched to
Berlin, and from the representations of the mission here we hope for
a speedy and happy termination and explanation of the affair."

" April 6*A. — Dr. Howe, we learn, is liberated at Berlin, but is
to be escorted by the police to the frontier of France. The proceed
ings against him have been outrageous, and that Government would
not have dared to treat a citizen of any other country in so cavalier
a manner."

SUGGESTIONS OF A TELEGRAPH.

Among the artist friends of Mr. Morse in Paris, at this time,
was R. "W". Habersham, of Augusta, Georgia, whose state
ments in relation to Mr. Morse's first suggestion of a Telegraph
are confirmed by the recollections of Mr. Cooper. Mr. Morse,
however, was never able to call to mind the conversations which
are so minutely related in the following statement by Mr.
Habersham :

" In the year 1831 I went to Paris, to study art in the atelier
of Baron Gros. In the autumn of that year, I became acquainted
with the moralist Jouffroy, who was already famous as a thinker, but
who seemed to feel a want that all his brilliant speculations -could
not supply, and to be in pursuit of something which constantly
eluded him. Soon after, I met Professor Morse, who was copying
in the Louvre Rembrandt's famous-picture of ' Tobit and the Angel,'
and soon formed so satisfactory an opinion of him that, in the
spring of 1832. when the cholera broke out in Paris, and I found
that he had resolved to remain, I determined to remain also. I
lived near the Odeon, he near the Madeleine, No. 29 Rue de Surenne ;
so, not liking the thought of his being alone, with strangers, unfa
miliar with the language, and liable to be stricken down in a mo
ment, with no friend near, I proposed to find lodgings nearer him.
Fortunately, he lived in a private house, in which two rooms could

230 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

be hired. I took them, and, perceiving that his were low and con
fined, while mine were large and airy, I offered to give him my bed
room, and convert my parlor into a dormitory for myself, taking one
of his as a sitting-room. He kindly acceded to this, and we soon
found it convenient to have one room in common, and to take our
meals together. It was then that T gradually brought before him
the questions discussed with Jouffroy, without giving his name or
authority, and in conversations carried on often through the open
door of our sleeping-apartments, after we had retired, got an in
sight into the vast superiority of the Christian's faith, even as a
working-power, over the philosophy of such men as Cousin and
Jouffroy.

uln 1832, the longest railroad in the world was between
Charleston, South Carolina, and Augusta, Georgia, one hundred
and thirty-five miles ; the next, between Liverpool and Manchester,
thirtv miles ; the third, from the Quincy granite-quarries to Boston,
ten miles ; and the mails were carried by coach, overland, in pref
erence to the sailing-vessels, which were then solely used for marine
navigation. In consequence of this, letters reached me from Savan
nah a month later than those of the same date from New York.
Art students twenty years of age are not apt to be models of pa
tience, and my forte did not lie in quiet submission to the irreme
diable ; whence from me much discontent, made audible, and con
siderable imprecation on Uncle Sam's mails, smothered from respect
to my mentor. But, on one occasion, the attempt at smothering
failed, and I consigned the whole post-office department to a place
so warm that the letters would have been, in those days of sealing-
wax and wafers, soon beyond assorting. This led to a conversation
which showed that Morse's mind was already in the matter, and
explained certain visits, at which I had not been * invited to assist.'
It came out that he was inquiring into the French Semaphore Tel
egraph system, with a view to its introduction into America, although
I believe he dismissed it, as being^oo slow for us, and inapplicable to
our wants, in spite of our very clear atmosphere. It was then that
he used this expression : c The French system would do better in
our clear atmosphere than here; but it is too slow; lightning will
scarcely be too fast. ,' There was, on one occasion, another reference
made to the conveyance of sound under water, and to the length of
time taken to communicate the letting in of the water into the Erie
Canal, by cannon shots, to New York, and other means, during which
the suggestion of using keys and wires, like the piano, was rejected

MR. COOPER'S TESTIMONY 231

as requiring too many wires, if other things were available. I recol
lect} also, that in our frequent visits to Mr. J. Fenimore Cooper's, in
the Rue St. -Dominique, these subjects, so interesting to Americans,
were often introduced, and that Morse seemed to harp on them, con
stantly referring to Franklin and Lord Bacon. Now I, while recog
nizing the intellectual grandeur of both these men, had contracted
a small opinion of their moral strength ; but Morse would uphold
and excuse, or rather deny, the faults attributed; Lord Bacon,
especially, he held to have sacrificed himself to serve the queen in
her aberrations ; while of Franklin, the ' great American ' recog
nized by the French, he was particularly proud."

Mr. Cooper, in his novel entitled " The Sea Lions," on page
140, says:

" We pretend to no knowledge on the subject of the dates of
discoveries in the arts and sciences, but well do we remember the
earnestness, and single-minded devotion to a laudable purpose,
with which our worthy friend first communicated to us his ideas on
the subject of using the electric spark by way of a telegraph. It
was in Paris, and during the winter of 1831-'32, and the succeed
ing spring, a time when we were daily together, and we have a
satisfaction in recording this date, that others may prove better
claims if they can."

Mr. Morse's own recollection of the time of the first concep
tion of the Telegraph dates only from October, 1832, on board
the ship Sully, and in a letter to Mr. Cooper he suggested that
he must be mistaken. In reply, however, under date of " May
18, 1849, Hall, Cooperstown," Mr. Cooper said:

" For the time, I still stick to Paris, so does my wife, so does
my eldest daughter: you did no more than1 to throw out the
general idea, but I feel quite confident this occurred in Paris. I
confess I thought the notion evidently chimerical, and as such spoke
of it in my family. I always set you down as a sober-minded, com
mon-sense sort of a fellow, and thought it a high flight for a painter
to make, to go off on the wings of the lightning. We may be mis
taken, but you will remember that the priority of the invention
was a question early started, and my impressions were the same,
much nearer to the time than it is to-day."

These conversations, so accurately attested by independent

232 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

witnesses, are of value, inasmuch as they show the familiarity
of Mr. Morse with the powers of electricity, and the tendency
of his mind toward original investigation and invention. To
him these thoughts were so familiar that he soon forgot he had
ever expressed them before others. That he did, we have the
best reasons for believing.

While at work upon his picture in the Louvre the great
naturalist, already known throughout the civilized world, Baron
Humboldt, became interested in Mr. Morse. They had met at
the house of Baron Gerard, who was in the habit of drawing
around him the artists and men of science, and whose salon
was a favored resort of genius and taste. Humboldt conceived
a great fondness for Morse, and, often coming to him in the
gallery, would take him away from his immediate work, to stroll
among the works of art, and converse upon topics congenial to
their inquiring minds. This acquaintance was afterward re
vived in Paris, when Morse returned with his great invention,
and again in Potsdam, where the humble artist, crowned with
honors, visitqd his illustrious friend.

The American residents in Paris celebrated the " Fourth of
July," in the year 1832, with a banquet, at which Mr. Morse
presided, with Mr. Cooper as vice-president. Among the guests
on that occasion were General Lafayette, and Hon. William C.
Rives, United States minister. After the blessing had been
asked by Professor Hovey, of Amherst College, the president
gave the toasts in their order, and, on offering one in honor of
Lafayette, Mr. Morse said :

" I cannot propose the next toast, gentlemen, so intimately con
nected with the last, without adverting to the distinguished honor
and pleasure we this day enjoy above the thousands, and I may
say hundreds of thousands, of our countrymen who are at this mo
ment celebrating this great national festival — the honor and pleas
ure of having at our board our venerable guest on my right hand,
the hero whom two worlds claim as their own. Yes, gentlemen, he
belongs to America as well as to Europe. He is our fellow-citizen,
and the universal voice of pur country would cry out against us,
did we not manifest our nation's interest in his person and his
character. With the mazes of European politics we have nothing
to do ; to changing schemes, of good or bad government, we cannot

MR. MORSE'S SPEECH.

make ourselves a party; with the success or dei
faction we can have no sympathy. But with th
of rational liberty, of civil and religious libert
for which our guest fought by the side of our fat
has steadily maintained for a long life ' through good report, and
evil report,' we do sympathize ; we should not be Americans if we
did not sympathize with them, nor can we compromise one of these
principles, and preserve our self-respect as loyal American citizens.
They are the principles of order and good government, of obe
dience to law, the principles which under Providence have made our
country unparalleled in prosperity, principles which rest not in
visionary theory, but are made palpable by the sure test of experi
ment and time.

" But, gentlemen, we honor our guest as the stanch, undeviating
defender of these principles, of our principles, of American princi
ples. Has he ever deserted them ? Has he ever been known to
waver? Gentlemen, there are some men, some too who would
wish to direct public opinion, who are like the buoys upon tide
water — they float up and down as the current sets this way or that.
If you ask at an emergency where they are, we cannot tell you ; we
must first consult the almanac, we must know the quarter of the
moon, the way of the wind, the time of the tide, and then we may
guess where you will find them. But, gentlemen, our guest is not
of this fickle class. He is a tower amid the waters, his founda
tion is upon a rock, he moves not with the ebb and flow of the
stream ; the storm may gather, the waters may rise and even dash
above his head, or they may subside at his feet, still he stands un
moved. We know his site and his bearings, and with the fullest
confidence we point to where he stood six-and-fifty years ago. He
stands there now. The winds have swept by him, the waves have
dashed around him, the snows of winter have lighted upon him,
but still he is there.

" I ask you therefore, gentlemen, to drink with me in honor of
General Lafayette."

Then followed a large number of volunteer toasts by G: "W.
Haven, of New Hampshire ; John Biddle Chapman, of Pennsyl
vania; Major "W. T. Poussin, AY. P. Dwight, Mr. Cooper, Mr.
Rives, Mr. Niles, and manv others.

From time to time Mr. Morse was in the receipt of friendly
notes from General Lafayette ; some of them are. found among

234 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

his papers, and many of them were given away, as autographs,
to friends. We copy at this point all that are preserved, whether
received in Paris or after his return to the United States :

"PARIS, September 11, 1832.

" MY DEAR SIR : I have seen the Poles who mean to go to the
United States. They are twenty, and hope to find a ship which will
carry them for three hundred francs each. They flatter themselves
to get that sum, or the greatest part of it, from the French com
mittee ; but, should they go to New York, do you think that they
will find means to be supported until they have found a place to
form their colony upon ? Do you think, also, that lands in the State
of Ohio, or elsewhere, could be granted to them, or that they will
find in the sympathy of the United States a little capital to form
their settlement ? We must have a strong hope of it before we
encourage their emigration, which they have much at heart.
" Most truly and affectionately,

" Your friend,

" LAFAYETTE."

" I would be very sorry, my dear friend, to let you depart before
you have received my affectionate good wishes. You will find me
to-morrow at nine.

" Most truly, your friend,

"Monday, September, 1832." "LAFAYETTE.

"LA GRANGE, September 27, 1832.

" MY DEAR SIR : I am sorry to see you will not take Paris arid
La Grange in your way to Havre, unless you were to wait for the
packet of the 10th, in company with General Cadwalader, Commo
dore Biddle, and those young, amiable Philadelphians who con
template sailing on that day. But, if you persist to go by the next
packet, I beg you here to receive my best wishes and those of my
family for your happy voyage. Upon you, my dear sir, I much de
pend to give our friends of the United States a proper explanation
of the state of things in Europe. You have been very attentive to
what has past since the Revolution of 1830. Much has been ob
tained here and other parts of Europe in this whirlwind of a week.
Further consequences here and in other countries — Great Britain
and Ireland included — will be the certain result, though they have
been mauled and betrayed, where they ought to have received en
couragement, But it will not be so short and so cheap as we had
a right to anticipate it might be. I think it useful, on both sides

LAFAYETTE'S HOPES. 235

of the water, to dispel the cloud which ignorance or design may
throw over the real state of European and French politics. In the
mean while, I believe it to be the duty of every American returned
home to let his fellow-citizens know what wretched handle is made
of the violent collisions, threats of a separation, and reciprocal
abuse, to injure the character and question the stability of republi
can institutions. I too much depend upon the patriotism and good
sense of the several parties* in the United States, to be afraid that
those dissensions may terminate in a final dissolution of the Union ;
and should such an event be destined in future to take place,
deprecated as it has been by the best wishes of the departed
founders of the Revolution — Washington at their head — it ought
at least in charity not to take place before the not remote period
when every one of those who have fought and bled in the cause
shall have joined their contemporaries. What is to be said of
Poland, and the situation of her heroic, unhappy sons, you well
know, having been a constant and zealous member of our com
mittee. You know what sort of mental perturbation among the
ignorant part of every European nation has accompanied the visit
of the cholera in Russia, Germany, Hungary, and several parts of
Great Britain and France — suspicions of poison, prejudices against
the politicians, and so forth. I would like to know whether the
population of the United States has been quite free of those aber
rations, as it would be an additional argument in behalf of republican
institutions and superior civilization resulting from them.
. " Most truly and affectionately,

" Your friend,

" LAFAYETTE."

"I have just now good news from , dated 15th. My

grandson says that five attacks from the Miguelists have been most
gallantly repelled ; it is to be hoped the infamous Miguels will ulti-
mateh7 be overthrown. I hope you are arrived in good health, my
dear sir, and, referring you to the European papers, inclose two spe
cial little speeches of your friend, LAFAYETTE.

" PARIS, December 8, 1832."

"PARIS, February 28, 1833.

" MY DEAR. SIE : I am highly obliged to you for your kind
letter, and for your publication of my observations on the present
melancholy affairs in the United States. I see with pleasure that
they have been repeated in all the American papers, namely, at

236 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Charleston ; so they have been in the papers of this country. In
closed you will find some late observations of mine in the House ;
they will give you an account of political matters on this side of

the Atlantic.

Most truly and affectionately,

" Your friend,

" LAFAYETTE."

"LA GRANGE, November 5, 1833.

" MY DEAR SIB : The particular accounts I can give you of the
family at La Grange are almost the only addition to be made to your
investigation of European papers. You well know the divisions in
the public opinion, so that, by comparing together their several ex
pressions, you may form a correct judgment of the actual situation
and progress of affairs on this side of the Atlantic. You will not
therefore suppose that the constitutionality of the Juste-Milieu and
its royal chief is so far, as their followers pretend to be, from the
principle and wishes of anti-liberal governments, nor will you think
that the patriotism and republicanism of France is all confined within
the formula marked out in the name of a society. Under the invo
cation of Robespierre, that society itself, chiefly composed of
honest citizens and devoted patriots, has been unfortunately and
designedly led into errors, to which the police agents have not been
strangers. The best account that has been given of that publi
cation is, agreeably to my opinion, to be found in the Comique Fran-
$ais of the 28th of October, and the inclosed. The eyes of Jules
Lasteyrie are not yet recovered, and require a long management,
but the sight of both of them will be preserved, Oscar Lafayette
has been, by the scientific examination jury, admitted to the Poly
technic School. The greater part of the family are at La Grange,
and request their best compliments to you. We shall leave here
for the session of the House — that is to be opened for the 23d of
December. I don't hear' from our excellent friend Mr. Cooper and
family. He must be in New York before this letter reaches you.
I intend writing to him, namely, on the subject of one of his letters,
by the next packet ; in the mean while tell him that Chodiko, having
been prevented to leave us and repair to Montauban, has antici
pated his predictions by asking a passport to quit France for Eng
land. I don't know where he now is. I have several times spoken,
and lately written, to Dwernicki. What remains of the French
debt to the American committee is not yet settled and paid.

MR. MORSE'S LETTER. 237

Chodiko must be very forlorn. I shall know more in a few days,
on a trip to town. My grandson is arrived from the south. He goes
the day after to-morrow to Paris, with Mr. Gallatin's, Mr. Rives's,
Mr. Cooper's, and your own long letter, and an introduction to Mr.
Livingston, who has notes very similar, I think, to our notions,
and will frame an article for the Revue des Deux Mondes. I shall
send it as soon as it comes out. I will be much obliged to you, my
dear sir, if you are pleased to call upon Mr. Prince, Long Island,
and request him to send me grafts of the fine North River Spitzen-
berg red apple, of the bloody peach, the inside of which is red, and
some mock-orange trees — they are tall, and handsomer than the
European varieties ; you would recommend them, with a bill of the
costs, to the captain of a packet, so as to have time to place them.
Pay my compliments to Mr. Prince, who has been so very kind in
his invoices to me.

" Most truly and affectionately,

" Your old friend,

" LAFAYETTE."

To this letter Mr. Morse replied as follows :
To General Lafayette.

"NEW YORK, January^, 1834.

" MY DEAR GENERAL : Your obliging letter of the 5th of Novem
ber, just received, finds me confined to the bouse by temporary lame
ness. I owe you an apology, my dear General, for I am in your
debt since your last interesting letter introducing to me the ami
able, and, I am happy to add, popular Maroncelli. I thank you for
making him known to me, although I feel that I am not so situated
in my domestic establishment — being alone — as to show him all
the attentions I could wish, or he deserves. Yet I have had the
pleasure of introducing him to our club, who meet weekly, of which
Mr. Gallatin, Mr. Jay, Chancellor Kent, the professors of Columbia
College, etc., are members, and we have been highly gratified in
his society. The ten years' imprisonment of Silvio Pellico has been
published here, and has excited great interest for Mr. Maroncelli,
so that I believe he finds himself very agreeably engaged. He is
about publishing, he tells me, his own history of that imprisonment.
" I am rejoiced to know that your grandson, Jules Lasteyrie,
, will not lose his sight, although I regret to learn that his recovery
will be tedious ; what a melancholy event would the loss of his eyes

238 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

have been to him and to all your dear family! I am glad to learn,
also, that your other grandson, Oscar Lafayette, has entered the
Polytechnic School. I incerely pray that France and the world
may see in the grandson the same enlarged benevolence, the same
love of true liberty, the same persevering consistency, the same self-
devotion to the happiness of mankind, as have distinguished and im
mortalized the grandfather. Tell him, my dear General, that the
world will have its eye on him ; his name cannot be hid, he must
sustain it in all its glory ; and I pray that God's strength may be
given him, that he may be able to sustain it unsullied.

" You will have learned before this of the arrival of our excellent
and distinguished friend Cooper and his charming family ; they arrived
on the very day of the date of jour letter, the 5th of November, and
are now well. I dined with them on New- Year's day. Mr. Cooper
is about replying to the attacks made upon him while absent, and in
his pamphlet will make an expose of the finance discussion in Paris,
which will create a little disturbance probably in the minds of some
Americans who were aiding and abetting the attacks on you, my
dear General, and on their country's institutions, in that discussion.

"I have this moment written a line to Mr. Prince, of Long
Island, inclosing your request respecting the grafts and trees, and
desiring him to have them prepared immediately. I hope you will
receive them by the same packet which takes this letter.

"As to political affairs in this country, my dear General, I am
conscious there are others better informed than myself, who will
keep you advised of their various changes. I have been too long
absent from my country to retain any thing of mere party feeling ;
I cannot identify myself with any of the present parties. I read,
as far as I have the time, the statements of all, till I have become
quite familiar with the general character of party strife. I find the
usual quantity of denunciations of the outs against the ins, and of
charges of tyranny and usurpation, and the usual forebodings of
anarchy and ruin from the measures of the existing Adminis
tration ; and I can trace, or think I can trace, most of the asperity
and bitter revilings which disfigure and disgrace our press, to the
fears of office-holders, or the disappointments of office-seekers.
Some of our orators declaim loudly on the danger to our institu
tions of certain measures, and others threaten a separation of the
Union. Yet the solid, substantial, enterprising, active majority of
the people are not moved by verbiage or rhetorical figures ; they
read and calmly digest those dashing arguments pro and con. • the

LAFAYETTE'S ATTENTIONS. 239

wordy war rages in the halls of Congress, and the echoes of the
strife ring through the land, but it is mere sound, until an evil
truly presses upon the people, until they feel their freedom actually
invaded, and their interests suffering in earnest from bad legisla
tion, and then the voice of the people is heard in its might, and
the strife of party is hushed ; the troubles of the land are put into
retirement by our bloodless weapon of revolution, the ballot-box,
and the evil is remedied. This seems to be the natural operation,
my dear General,- of our beautiful institutions, nor can I be excited
to alarm for their safety except in the supposable case of a general
demoralization comprised in an absence of religious principle, and a
prevalence of ignorance ; and of such a state of things there is lit
tle prospect, while the benevolent are so active in their various
societies for the diffusion of religious and scientific knowledge. No,
my dear General ; you have lived to see your favorite principles tri
umphant in one country, at least. They have withstood many a
storm that has threatened them ; they have been severely tried in
the furnace, and are yet to be tried, but like gold they have hith
erto come out, and, I am persuaded, will ever come out, purified ;
and you have the glorious anticipation that they must and will
eventually triumph throughout the world, though all the tyrants
of the earth league together to crush them."

General Lafayette to Mr. Morse.

" PABIS, February 27, 1834.

" MY DEAR SIR: Permit me to send you a letter for Mr. Maron-
celli, relative to a little money transaction, which I much wish to be
put into his own hands. You may have heard of an indisposition
which still detains me in my room ; and, as reports about it have
been aggravated, I have the pleasure to assure you that I am
much better, and shall soon have got rid of it. Remember me
most affectionately to the Cooper family, and other friends, and
believe me, " Your affectionate friend,

" LAFAYETTE."

His last year in Paris had been made very pleasant to Mr.
Morse by the kind attentions of General Lafayette, at whose
house in the city, and at La Grange, the artist was a frequent
and welcome guest.. When the sad intelligence reached the
United States of the death of Lafayette, in 1834, Mr. Morse ad
dressed the following note to the son of his illustrious friend :

240 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

To George Washington Lafayette^ Member of Chamber of Depu
ties, etc.

"I scarcely know in what language to express to you, and
to all your family, the feelings of unfeigned sorrow with which the
intelligence of the death of your great and good father, the illus
trious General Lafayette, oppressed me. The announcement was
the more sudden to me, as I had received a letter from him but a
short time before this, in which he expressed a confidence of his
speedy recovery. Allow me, my dear sir, to mingle my tears with
yours for the irreparable loss you have suffered. In common with this
whole country, now clad in mourning, with the lovers of true liberty
and of exalted philanthropy throughout the world, I bemoan the
departure from earth of your immortal parent ; yet I may be permit
ted to indulge in additional feelings of more private sorrow at the
loss of one who honored me with his friendship, and had not ceased,
till within a few days of his death, to send to me occasional marks
of his affectionate remembrance. Be assured, my dear sir, that the
memory of your father will be especially endeared to me and mine.

" Accept for yourself, my dear sir, and for all the bereaved fam
ily, the assurance of my heart-felt condolence, and believe me, with
the sincerest respect and esteem, your obedient servant and friend,

" S. F. B. MORSE."

Having proceeded so far with his picture that he was able to
finish it at home, Mr. Morse left Paris, and made a visit to Lon
don, for the purpose of renewing the associations of his earlier
art-life.

To his Brothers.

" LONDON, September 21, 1824.

" Here I am, once more, in England, and on the wing home. I
shall probably sail from Havre in the packet of October 1st (the
Sully), and I shall leave London for Southampton and Havre on the
36th inst., to be prepared for sailing.

" I am visiting old friends, and renewing old associations in
London. Twenty years make a vast difference, as well in the
aspect of this great city as in the faces of old acquaintances. Lon
don may be said literally to have gone into the country. Where I
once was accustomed to walk in the fields, so far out of town as
even to shoot at a target against the trees with impunity, now
there are spacious streets, and splendid houses, and gardens. I

MR. DUNLAPS RECORDS. 241

spend a good deal of my spare time with Leslie. He is the same
amiable, intelligent, unassuming gentleman that I left in 1815. He
is painting a little picture, ' Sterne recovering his Manuscripts from
the Curls of his Hostess at Lyons.' I have been sitting to him for
the head of Sterne, whom he thinks I resemble very strongly. At
any rate, he has made no alteration in the character of the face
from the one he had drawn from Sterne's portrait, and has simply
attended to the expression.

" When I left Paris, I was feeble in health, so much so, that I
was fearful of the effects of the journey to London, especially as I
passed through villages suffering severely from the cholera. But I
proceeded moderately, lodged the first night at Boulogne-sur-Mer,
crossed to Dover in a severe southwest gale, and passed the next
night at Canterbury, and the next day came to London. I "think
the ride did me good, and I have been exercising a great deal, riding
and walking since, and my general health is certainly improving.
I am in hopes that the voyage will completely set me up again."

Mr. Dunlap records some interesting incidents in the visit of
Mr. Morse to London and Paris, both on Ms journey to Italy,
and his return :

" In 1829 Mr. Morse found himself in circumstances to visit,
not only England again, but to reside for a sufficient time in Italy
to study the works of art, copy many of the best pictures, and to
improve in every branch of painting, to a degree which has sur
prised me, as much as it has given me pleasure. On his arrival
from America, he found his friends Newton and Leslie in London,
and with them attended' two lectures at the Royal Academy, both
remarkable for circumstances of very different natures. Leslie in
troduced Morse to the academicians, who received the president of
the National Academy of Design with peculiar honor. The first
of these lectures was remarkable, as being the last time Sir
Thomas Lawrence was out of his house; the second, for a com
pliment paid by the lecturer to Washington Allston.

" Martin Archer Shee, the successor of Lawrence, was, on this
occasion, requested to take the presidential chair ; Morse, Leslie,
and Newton, sat at his right hand. Mr. Greene, the lecturer, re
marked, that he was glad Mr. Morse was present, as he had had
occasion to mention an American gentleman who was an honor to
the Royal Academy, Mr. Allston ; and in the course of his lecture
he quoted two of Allston's sonnets.
16

242 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" Returning homeward he made a stop in Paris, and pursued his
studies in the Louvre. He there made a picture of that celebrated
gallery, copying in miniature the most valuable paintings as hang
ing on the walls. Of this splendid work my friend James Fenimore
Cooper speaks thus, in a letter to me, dated Paris, March 16, 1833 :
' Morse is painting an exhibition picture that I feel certain must
take. He copies admirably, and this is a drawing of the Louvre,
with copies of some fifty of its best pictures.' The picture of the
gallery of the Louvre was not finished until Morse returned to New
York; but, when, nearly finished and removed from the gallery, the
Chevalier Alexandre Le Noir, conservateur of the Museum of
France (a celebrated antiquary, who is now engaged in arranging
the papers on the ruins of Palenque in Mexico), wished to see the
painting, and made an appointment for the purpose. He sat long
before it, and complimented the artist highly, who received the
praise as the effusion of politeness ; but the next day he had a proof
of the learned critic's good opinion, for he received from him two
folios and a quarto, published by him, containing several hundred
plates, descriptive of the ancient monuments of France and their
history.

" On leaving Paris," continues Mr. Dunlap, " he returned to
London, and had the satisfaction of renewing former recollections
and acquaintances, and particularly of enjoying the society of his
friend Leslie. His good old friend and master, West, was no more,
and his younger friend and instructor, Allston, was in America ; but
he had recollections of the latter brought to his mind very un
expectedly. Morse had brought a letter to a gentleman from
Italy, whose direction was No. 11 Tinny Street, London. After
an absence of sixteen or seventeen years he had no remembrance of
the street, or thought that it was connected with any transaction
of interest to him. He sought the street, and, on entering it, he
saw objects which appeared familiar to him, but which might only
have reminded him of those dreamy sensations we experience
through life, when, entering a strange place, we feel as if all the
scene was merely a renewal of former impressions, made we know
not how or when. He inquired for No. 11, of a gentleman pass
ing, who exclaimed, ' Surely I know you, sir.' ' My name is Morse.'
' And have you forgotten that house ? ' pointing to it, « that is No.
11 ; my name is Collard, and there, with you and your friend All
ston, and his friends Coleridge and Lonsdale, I have passed many
hours in time past.' The reality now flashed upon Morse ; he en-

THEORY OF COLORS. 343

tered the house, and found himself in the apartment where he had
witnessed such poignant scenes of distress in former days — the
chamber in which his dear friend and mentor's wife had expired.

" Mr. Morse acquired a vast fund of knowledge in his European
tour, having familiarized himself with the best models in the world ;
and he quitted England, in 1832, with every prospect of winning,
in a few years, a splendid fame.

" Mr. Morse has told me that he formed a theory for the distri
bution of colors in a picture many years since, when standing before
a picture of Paul Veronese, which has been confirmed by all his
subsequent studies of the works of the great masters. This picture
is now in the National Gallery, London. He saw in it that the high
est light was cold; the mass of light, warm; the middle tint, cool ; the
shadow, negative ; and the reflections, hot. He says he has tried
this theory by placing a white ball in a box, lined with white, and
convinced himself that the system of Paul Veronese is the order of
Nature. Balls of orange or of blue, so placed, give the same rela
tive result. The high light of the ball is uniformly cold, in com
parison with the local color of the ball. * I have observed in a pict
ure by Rubens that it had a foxy tone, and on examination I found
that the shadow (which according to my theory ought to be nega
tive) was hot. Whenever I found this to be the case, I found the
picture foxy.' On one occasion his friend Allston said to him, while
standing before an unfinished painting, ' I have painted that piece
of drapery of every color, and it will not harmonize with the rest
of the picture.' Morse found the drapery belonged to the mass of
light, and said, ' According to my theory, it must be warm ; paint it
flesh-color.' ' What do you mean by your theory ? ' Morse ex
plained as above. Allston immediately said : ' It is so ; it is in
nature ; ' and has since said, ' Your theory has saved me many an
hour's labor.' "

General James Grant Wilson, of New York, has kindly
furnished pleasant recollections of conversations with Morse
and Leslie.

" Professor Morse, some twenty years ago, as we were riding
together in the cars, said to me : ' Shall I tell you about some of
the great painters living in London when I was studying and
starving with Leslie in a London garret ? ' The answer was, of
course, 'Yes;' and he began a charming monologue concerning
West, Allston, Haydon, Fuseli, and other great heirs of fame,

244 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

fragments of which I jotted down the day following. . . . c Among
other artists with whom I was intimate was poor Haydon, who
was so vain that he confessed he was uneasy at a funeral unless he
was first in the procession. Going in company with a friend, in
1842, to call on him, my companion, on our entering the room,
said : " Haydon, I have brought an old friend to see you. Do you
remember him ? " Looking at me intently for a few seconds he
broke forth with, " Why, Morse ; my friend Morse, how are you ?
Still painting and starving, eh?" . . . Tom Thumb killed Haydon!'
Observing the surprised and inquiring looks of his listener, Morse
continued : ' At the time or soon after that Haydon opened an exhi
bition of his greatest works, including " Christ's Entry into Jerusa
lem," Tom Thumb made his appearance in London, when his (Hay-
dori's) gallery was immediately deserted, while all London flocked
to see the diminutive dwarf. 'Twas too much for the poor painter ;
he became desperate at the failure of his exhibition, for which he
had anticipated such great success, and put an end to his existence.'
In answer to the inquiry as to Haydon's character and the causes
that led to so distinguished an artist's being constantly in debt and
harassed almost to death by creditors, the professor replied : ' Hay
don was a person of inordinate vanity ; he thought the eyes of the
whole earth were upon him. He was improvident and reckless in
expenditures, incurring the most extravagant expenses for the fur
therance .of high art; i. e., any thing to assist him in his painting,
su'h as the purchase of expensive works of art, employing living
models, etc.'

"'Another distinguished painter, with whom I was well ac
quainted, was Fuseli, a friend of Sir Joshua Reynolds, by whose
advice he abandoned literature for art. Fuseli could speak with
fluency nine languages, and enjoyed annoying certain of his literary
companions with the display of antique lore. • He on one occasion
repeated half a dozen sonorous and well-sounding lines to Professor
Porson, one of the best Greek scholars of his time, and said, " With
all your learning you cannot tell me who wrote them." The Cam
bridge professor was compelled to admit that he did not know the
author. "I should think not," chuckled Fuseli; "I made them this
moment ! " He would sometimes, when in a passion, give vent to
his fury by swearing in half a dozen languages. I once accompanied
the Swiss painter to the house of a wealthy amateur artist, where
we were invited to dine. He wished to obtain Fuseli's opinion of
a large picture which he had just completed, and accordingly after

FUSELI AND LESLIE. 245

dinner it was inspected by all the party. " Extraordinary ! ex
traordinary ! EXTRAORDINARY ! " exclaimed Fuseli. " Do you ad
mire my picture?" asked the delighted amateur. "Oh, extraor
dinary ! " again exclaimed Fuseli. On our way home, accompanied
by another artist named Lamb, he said, " Why, Mr. Fuseli, how
could you possibly admire such a paltry picture — so out of drawing,
and the coloring so wretched ! " " Oh ! " was the reply, " I said ex
traordinary, but I meant extraordinary BAD ! " That word has often
since done duty for me under similar circumstances,' added Morse,
with a merry laugh. 'On another occasion an American artist,
named B , a great quack, who, by advertising, puffery, and toady
ism, managed to obtain considerable business, took a fine residence
in a fashionable quarter of London, and invited a large number of

artists, authors, and fashionable people, to a house-warming. B ,

walking with Fuseli in one of the largest apartments, remarked, " I
intend to have the walls whitewashed, and then paint on them a
series of magnificent historical pictures. What do you think of it ? "
" Setter paint the pictures first, and then whitewash them ! " was
Fuseli's reply.'

"My conversation with Leslie, which occurred some sixteen
months later, was chiefly in regard to his early artist-life in London,
when he and Morse shared a room together in Warren Street, and
their most familiar friends were Washington Allston and a young
American artist named King. ' In those days,' he remarked, ' the
Allstons, Morse, and myself, spent our evenings together, and happy
evenings they were, I can assure you. Of course, we often went to
the theatre, and I remember one famous occasion when we saw Mrs.
Siddons and her brothers, John and Charles, in " Henry VIII." The
author of " Home, Sweet Home " was with us that night. About
that time (1812 or 1813) we all spent a delightful day together
at Hampton Court. Allston had a measureless admiration of
Turner. He thought him the greatest painter since the days of
Claude. It was reported that Turner had declared his intention of
being buried in his " Carthage," which you have seen in the National
Gallery. I was told that he said to Chantrey : " I have appointed
you one of my executors ; will you promise to see me rolled up in
it ? " " Yes," said the sculptor, " and I promise you also that as
soon as you are buried I will have you taken up and unrolled ! "
This story was so generally circulated and credited that, when Dean
Milman heard that Turner was to be buried in St. Paul's Cathedral,
he said, " I will not read the service over him if he is wrapped up

246 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

in that picture." ' . . . Such was the sparkling commensalia of Leslie
that much of its brilliancy and interest is lost in the attempt to
transfer it to paper, and I cannot but regret that I did not at the
time jot down more of his conversation concerning his gifted friends,
particularly that portion of it referring to Sir Walter Scott, Irving,
and Morse."

As the career of Mr. Morse as a painter closed here, and the
remainder of his life was devoted to the Telegraph, this is the
appropriate place in which to present a critical notice prepared
for this work by D. Huntington, Esq., the distinguished arti.-it,
and President of the National Academy of Design :

" My acquaintance with Professor Morse began in the spring of
1835, when I was placed under his care by my father as a pupil
He then lived in Greenwich Lane (now Greenwich Avenue), and
several young men were studying art under his instruction. He
was actively engaged in painting, though he devoted a part of his
tune to experiments connected with his Telegraph. He gave a
short time every day to each pupil, carefully pointing out our errors,
and explaining the principles of art. After drawing for some time
from casts, with the crayon, he allowed us to begin the use of the
brush, and we practised painting our studies from the casts, using
black, white, and raw umber. I believe this method was of great
use in enabling us early to acquire a good habit of painting. I
only regret that he did not insist on our sticking to this kind of
study a longer time, and drill us more severely in it, but he in
dulged our hankering for color too soon; and, when once we had
tasted the luxury of a full palette of colors, it was a dry business
to go back to plain black and white. In the autumn of that year,
1835, he removed to- spacious rooms in the New-York University,
on Washington Square.

" In the large studio in the north wing, he painted several fine
portraits, among them the beautiful full length of his daughter,
Mrs. Lind. He also lectured before the students, and a general
audience, illustrating his subject by painted diagrams.

u During this winter he was much occupied with the telegraphic
experiments, and exhibited to his pupils one of the earliest, if not
the first successful operation of the instrument. Though charmed
with the success of the experiment, we had no faith in its practical
results, and mourned over this sad infatuation (as we thought it) of
our master, which consumed so much of the time which we thought

ME. HUXTtS'GTOX'S NOTICE. 04;

he ought to devote to his art. Over his pupils he exercised a kind,
paternal influence, and we held him in esteem and reverence.

" His friends and brother artists were disappointed that he did not
obtain one of the Government orders at that time, given for histori
cal paintings, to fill the vacant panels of the Rotunda. To compen
sate him for this neglect, they made up a purse, and gave him a
commission for an historical picture. He chose for his subject ' The
Compact of the Pilgrims on board the Mayflower,' which he con
sidered as the germ of our free government. He made many studies
for this proposed picture, and drew the outline of the composition
on a canvas of a large cabinet size. I remember it as a well-ar
ranged group, simple and dignified in its general lines, and promis
ing to be a successful work. I inquired of him, a few years ago,
what had become of this canvas. He told me it had been lost,
with many other sketches, during one of his visits to Europe. The
money which had been advanced he returned to the subscribers.

" Professor Morse's love of scientific experiments was shown in
his artist-life. He formed theories of color, tried experiments with
various vehicles, oils, varnishes, and pigments. His studio was a
kind of laboratory.

" A beautiful picture of his wife and two children was painted, he
told me, with colors ground in milk, and the effect was juicy, creamy,
and pearly, to a remarkable degree. Another picture was com
menced with colors mixed with beer, afterward solidly impasted and
glazed with rich, transparent tints in varnish. His theory of color
is fully explained in the account of his life in Dunlap's ' Arts of
Design.' He proved its truth by boxes and balls of various colors.
He had an honest, solid, vigorous impasto, which he strongly insisted
on in his instructions — a method which was like the great masters
of the Venetian school. This method was modified in his practice
by his studies under West, in England, and by his intimacy with
Allston, for whose genius he had a great reverence, and by whose
way of painting he was strongly influenced. He was a lover of
simple, unaffected truth, and this trait is shown in his works as an
artist ; he had a passion for color, and rich, harmonious tints run
through his pictures, which are glowing and mellow, and yet pearly
and delicate. He had a true painter's eye, but he was hindered
from reaching the fame his genius promised as a painter by various
distractions ; such as the early battles of the Academy of Design in
its struggle for life, domestic afflictions, and, more than all, the en
grossing cares of his invention. The * Hercules,' with its colossal

248 -LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

proportions and daring attitude is evidence of the zeal and courage
of his early studies. An interesting account of this work, and of
the model in plaster, which he made for it, is given in « Dunlap,' vol.
ii., p. 311. It is now placed for safe-keeping in the Academy of
Design, and is worthy of being carefully preserved in a public gal
lery, not only as an instance of successful study in a young artist
(Morse was in his twenty-first year), but as possessing high artistic
merit, and a force and richness which plainly show that, if his ener
gies had not been diverted, he might have achieved a name in art
equal to the greatest of his contemporaries.

" His ' Gallery of the Louvre ' I know only from the studies
made for it ; but they indicate a great mastery of perspective, of
grouping, and coloring. His large picture of ' The House of Rep
resentatives,' for many years owned in England, was brought to
this country by an amateur, taken to San Francisco for exhibition,
returned to New York, and is now in my studio. It has those
traits of truthfulness, simplicity, and a subdued, mellow richness,
which characterize many of his works, but which are preeminent in
this. The architecture is well drawn, the accessories rendered with
accuracy, the flesh-color is deep and luminous, and the general effect
harmonious and agreeable. The rich, solid, impasted execution is
like some great old Venetian painter, and the hue and texture re
mind one of the works of Tintoretto.

" The following account of this picture is taken from the Daily
Graphic, of May 26, 1873 : ' In the studio of D. Huntington is a
most interesting historical painting by Professor Morse, which bears
the date of 1822. The canvas is eight feet by eleven feet, and rep
resents the old House of Representatives at the hour of lighting.
In the centre hangs the great chandelier, and on a high step-ladder
a negro is turning up the Argand burners, which are evidently of
interest, as the group on the platform, among whom are Story and
Marshall, are regarding the operation. Scattered among the seats
and around the room, are the members talking together, and one
with his back toward the light is endeavoring to read. In the half
gloom of the gallery are several persons, one of whom is Morse, the
geographer, and father of the professor, also Professor Silliman and
an Indian princess. There is the greatest fidelity in the painting of
the room, and what renders the picture still more valuable is the
fact that the faces are all portraits. The key to the picture cannot
be found, but the faces of a number have been recognized by the
likenesses as those of Chief-Justices Marshall and Story ; Stephen

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 249

Van Rensselaer ; Governor Tomlinson, of Connecticut ; Gales and
Seaton, of the National Intelligencer, and several others. The
studies for these heads were made by Professor Morse in "Washing
ton, and afterward were stolen, some of them finally finding their
way into private collections, where they now are. The aim of the
artist seems to have been to present a true picture of the House
at that time, rather than to attempt any thing picturesque. The
whole work has an honest air, which adds to its historical interest.
The costumes are those of that time, when gentlemen wore ruffled
shirts and white ties. There is but little attempt at composition.
The groups are arranged in broken lines, but the effect of the whole
is a little stiff. The low rich tones, the crimsons, and warm grays,
are very agreeable. The perspective is good, and the painting,
especially of the columns, is very solidly done. For its historical
accuracy, its portraits, its representations of the costumes, and the
appearance of the old House of Representatives ; for its rendering
of a phase of our national life now passed away, as well as from
the fact that it is the work of one of the fathers of American art,
and one of the most illustrious of Americans, it deserves a place in
the national Capitol, and none could be more appropriate than that
same room it pictures, which is now fitted for a public gallery.'

" Professor Morse's world-wide fame rests, of course, on his in
vention of the Electric Telegraph ; but it should be remembered
that the qualities of mind which led to it, were developed in the
progress of his art-studies, and if his paintings, in the various fields
of history, portrait, and landscape, could be brought together,
it would be found that he deserved an honored place among the
foremost American artists."

The picture of the Louvre, which Mr. Morse began in Paris,
he finished after his return to New York, and it was purchased
by George Clark, Esq., of Otsego, and removed to Hyde Hall,
on Otsego Lake.

We have now followed Mr. Morse through what may be
called his art-life. After his return to the city of New York, he
pursued his profession as a means of support ; but, during the
voyage across the ocean in the autumn of 1832, a vision broke
upon him, which produced a revolution in his life, and on the
commerce and intercourse of mankind. We have seen that
his genius was inventive. From early youth he had displayed
the inventive faculty — a distinctive feature of the family to

250

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE.

which he belonged. He was stimulated by an ardent desire
for usefulness and fame. The honor of his country was always
very near his heart. His desire for distinction as a painter, as
we gather from letters to his most intimate associates, had in it
more of patriotism than selfishness. He longed to distinguish
his country by his own distinction ; and, in the future contro
versies in which his great invention involved him, the honor of
America was uppermost in his mind. Encouraged and excited
by the associations of the past three years in Europe, laden with
the riches which he had amassed in the galleries of Italy, and
flushed with the highest hopes of future success, he embarked
at Havre on the 1st day of October, 1832, for thex city of New
York.

jrai [p0 BO m.

INVENTOR OF THE MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH.

CHAPTER VII.
1832.

PACKET-SHIP STILLY — ELECTRO-MAGNETISM — DINNER-TABLE CONVERSATION —
• IDEA OF THE TELEGRAPH — FIRST MARKS MADE — THE INVENTION AN
NOUNCED TO PASSENGERS — DRAWINGS EXHIBITED — PREDICTION TO CAP
TAIN PELL — PROF. E. N. HORSFORD's HISTORY OF THE SCIENCE — STEPHEN

GREY — LEYDEN JAR — FRANKLIN'S EXPERIMENTS CHARLES MARSHALL

LE SAGE — LOMOND — REUSSER — OAVALLO — WEDGEWOOD — RONALDS — DYAR
— GALVANISM, OR VOLTAISM — VOLTA^— SCHWEIGGER — COXE — MAGNETISM —

ELECTRO-MAGNETISM — AMPERE — SCHILLING COOKE AND WHEATSTONE —

OERSTED — SPIRAL COIL, 1821 ARAGO — STURGEON — JAMES FREEMAN

DANA — JOSEPH HENRY — FECHNER — OHM'S LAW — STEINHEIL — DANIEL —
SOEMMER1NG — SAMUEL FINLEY BREESE MORSE — INVENTION AND DISCOV
ERY — CLAIMS OF DISCOVERERS AND INVENTORS — SUCCESSIVE STEPS IN
TELEGRAPHIC INVENTION.

THE packet-ship Sully, Captain Pell, sailed from Havre on
the 1st day of October, 1832, for New York. Among the
cabin-passengers were the Hon. "William 0. Rives, of Virginia,
returning with his family from Paris, where he had been as
Minister of the United States ; Mr. J. F. Fisher, of Philadelphia ;
Dr. Charles T. Jackson, of Boston; Mr. S. F. B. Morse, of New
York ; Mrs. T. Palmer, Miss E. Palmer, Mr. C. Palmer, Mr. F.
Palmer, Mr. W. Palmer, Mr. J. Haslett, Charleston, S C. ; Mr.
Lewis Rogers, Virginia ; Mr. W. Post, .New York ; Mr. Con
stable, New. York ; Mons. de la Cande, Mons. J. P. Chazel,
Charleston ; Mr. A. Scheidler, Frankfort, Germany ; Mr. and
Mrs. Burgy, and others.

In the early part of the voyage conversation at the dinner-
table turned upon recent discoveries in electro-magnetism, and
the experiments of Ampere with the electro-magnet. Dr. Jack-

252 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

son spoke of the length of wire in the coil of a magnet, and the
question was asked by some one of the company, " If the velo
city of electricity was retarded by the length of the wire ? "
Dr. Jackson replied that electricity passes instantaneously over
any known length of wire. He referred to experiments made
by Dr. Franklin with several miles of wire in circuit, to ascer
tain the velocity of electricity ; the result being that he could
observe no difference of time between the touch at one extrem
ity and the spark at the other. At this point Mr. Morse inter
posed the remark, " If the presence of electricity can be made
visible in any part of the circuit, I see no reason why intelli
gence may not be transmitted instantaneously by electricity."
The conversation went on. But the one new idea had taken
complete possession of the mind of Mr. Morse. It was as sud
den and pervading as if he had received at that moment an
electric shock. All that he had learned in former years, the ex
periments he had seen in his boyhood, his studies with Pro-
sessors Day and Silliman, the later and significant discourses
of Professor Dana, and conversations with Professor Eenwick,
were revived, and began to form themselves into means and
ways to the accomplishment of a grand result. He withdrew
from the table and went upon deck. He was in mid-ocean, un-
dique ccdum, undique pontus. As the lightning cometh out of
the east and shineth unto the west, so swift and far was the in
strument to work that was taking shape in his creative mind.
/ Lightning and electricity had long been known as one and
the same. Signals had been made at a distance by electricity,
and intelligence thus transmitted, as beacon-fires on hill-tops had
from time immemorial flashed the knowledge of events across
continents. But this was not the conception of that moment
in the brain of Morse. His was a thought that, so far as
he knew, had never entered the mind of man before ! He
would transmit intelligence and record it at a distance. That
is a telegraph. Nothing else is a telegraph ; an instrument to
write at a distance. The purpose instantly formed absorbed
his mind, and to its perfection his life from that moment was
devoted. He was the man to do the work. His mind was
eminently inventive and mechanical. In his early youth and
riper manhood he had sought out many inventions. His name

THE PROCESS OF THOUGHT 253

had long been enrolled among inventors in the Patent-Office of
the United States. Patience, perseverance, and faith, were he
reditary traits of his character. He was now forty-one years old.

The mechanism by which the result would be reached was
to be wrought out by slow and laborious thought and experi
ment, but the grandeur of that result broke upon him as clearly
and fully as if it had been a vision from heaven. Difficulties
afterward arose in his path, to be surmounted or removed by
toilsome and painful processes ; for it is the order of Nature
that birth-throes should bear some proportion to the greatness
of the birth. But in that first hour of conception, when his
soul was all aglow with the discovery, he saw the end from the
beginning. The current of electricity passes instantaneously to
any distance along a wire ; the current being interrupted, a
spark appears. The spark shall be one sign ; its absence an
other ; the time of its absence another. Here are three signs to
be combined into the representation of figures or letters. They
can be made to form an alphabet. "Words may thus be indi
cated. A telegraph, an instrument to record at a distance, will
be the result. Continents shall be crossed. This great and
wide sea shall be no barrier. " If it will go ten miles without/
stopping," he said, " I can make it go around the globe."

Of all the great inventions that have made their authors
immortal, and conferred enduring benefit upon mankind, no one
was so completely grasped at its inception as this. His little
note or scratch book was always at hand, in which he made
sketches of objects that met his eye, or of images formed in his
mind. Scores of these books are now in existence, in which his
early and later pencilings are preserved. As he sat upon the
deck after the conversation at* dinner, he drew from his pocket
one of these books, and began to make marks to represent let
ters and figures to be produced by the agency of electricity at a
distance from the place of action. First, he arranged ten dots
and lines so as to represent figures referring to words. Next,
he drew the wires in tubes. Then came the magnets, and by-
and-by - cog-rules, to be used in regulating the power. In the
course of a few days his book presented several pages, which are
here reproduced, showing the first marks ever made in the in
vention of the Telegraph :

ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.

1234567890

Clay

Tubes.

215

War.

56

Holland.

161 252

France. England.

26

Austria.

222

Naturalist,

4030

Wednesday.

32

died.

Close Tubes.

15

Belgium.

300

against

141

6th Aug.

5

Alliance.

41

Russia.

35

Prussia.

Cuvier.

1.6.8.5.4.3

Magnet lifting sixty pounds.

A single space separates each of the first five figures.
Two spaces separate each of the last five.
Three spaces separate each number completed.

I

-

>

3

L

5

I

•

6

J

8

3

0

• •

'

•

• •

•

-

•

'

•

•

•

•

• -

• -

;

1

1

1

1

]

I

1

1

I

1

\

1

1

I

1

I

1

1

1

I

I

1

1

\

'

1

•

•

•

•

1

1

I

1

j

2 6

•

2

0

3

4

5

6

1

8

9

0

•

1

1

0

7

2

2

3

(5

0

5

Weak Permanent Magnet.

Electro-magnet Strong.

256 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

He wrought incessantly that day, and sleep forsook Mm in
his berth that night. His mind was on fire. In a few days he
submitted these rough drafts to Mr. Kives, who suggested vari
ous difficulties: But Mr. Morse* was ready with a solution. Mr.
Fisher states that Mr. Morse illustrated to him his system of
signs for letters, to be indicated by a quick succession of strokes
or shocks of the galvanic current, to be carried along upon a
.smgle wire. After several sleepless nights, while his mind was
in labor with the subject, he announced it at the breakfast-table,
and explained the process by which he proposed to accomplish it.
He then exhibited the drawing of the instrument, by which he
would do the work, and so completely had he mastered all the
details, that five years afterward, when a model of this instru
ment was constructed, it was instantly recognized as the one he
had devised and drawn in his sketch-book, and exhibited to his
fellow-passengers on the ship. J. Francis Fisher, Esq., counselor-
at-law of Philadelphia, stated, when his testimony was required :

" In the fall of the year 1832 I returned from Europe as a pas
senger with Mr. Morse, in the ship Sully, Captain Pell, master ;
during the voyage the subject of an electric telegraph was one
of frequent conversation ; Mr. Morse was most constant in pursuing
it, and alone the one who seemed disposed to reduce it to a prac
tical test ; and I recollect that for this purpose he devised a system
of signs for letters, to be indicated and marked by a quick succes
sion of strokes, or shocks of the galvanic current ; and I am sure of
the fact that it was deemed by Mr. Morse perfectly competent to
effect the result stated ; I did not suppose that any other person on
board the ship claimed any merit in the invention, or was in fact
interested to pursue it to maturity, as Mr. Morse then seemed to
be ; nor have I been able since that time to recall any fact or cir
cumstance to justify the claim of any person other than Mr. Morse
to the invention."

And Captain Pell stated, under oath, that when he saw the
instrument, September 27, 1837, he recognized in it the same
mechanical principles and arrangements which he had heard Mr.
Morse explain on board of the Sully in 1832. Captain Pell

says:

"Before the vessel was in port, Mr. Morse addressed me in
these words : 'Well, captain, should you hear of the telegraph, one

ELECTRICITY. 357

of these days, as the wonder of the world, remember the discovery
was made on board the good ship Sully.' "

Thus it appears from his own records, and the recollections
of the captain and passengers, gentlemen of the highest respect
ability and intelligence, that on shipboard Mr. Morse had actu
ally drawn out and recorded a system of signs, composed of a
combination of dots and spaces, to indicate letters, figures, and
words, and a mode of applying the electric or galvanic current
so as to make these signs permanent upon paper, to be passed
along in the instrument which he had invented. The INVEN
TION was accomplished and announced ere the inventor set foot
on his native shore. While the Sully is pursuing her way across
the sea, and the inventor is thinking out his great conception,
we will review the progress of electrical science, and learn 'the
material he had with which to make his idea real : 1

The knowledge that certain substances, like amber, would,
when rubbed with dry silk, or woolen, or fur, attract light bodies,
like pith-balls, or feathers, and which is at the foundation of elec
tricity, was known centuries before the Christian era. The knowl
edge that a certain iron-ore was endowed with the property of at
tracting pieces of iron, lay at the foundation of magnetism, and was
also of very early origin. Galvanism, at the farthest, scarcely
goes back beyond 1790, and, for application to the invention of the
recording telegraph, not beyond the beginning of this century.

ELECTKICITY. — The second step in electricity must have been
the discovery that, under certain circumstances, instead of attract
ing light bodies, the amber repelled them ; and the third step, that
the peculiar quality or force was something that could be transmit
ted along what is called a conductor.

As early as 1729 Stephen Grey employed as conductor pack
thread or twine, six hundred and fifty feet long, suspended by silk
threads.2 He also discovered that electricity could be conducted
through metallic wires.

The Ley den jar dates soon after 1745. This discovery, by
which the electric force might be stored up, made it possible to

1 The history that occupies the remainder of the chapter was prepared expressly
for this volume by Professor E. N. Horsford, of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

2 Lecture by Dr. B. W. Richardson, F. R. S., before the Brethren of the Charter
House. — Illustrated London News, February 21, 1874.

17

258 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

intensify its action. The accumulation of force in the interior,, and
its corresponding diminution on the outside, was restored by the
interposition of a conductor, connecting the outside with the inside.
This conductor might be of great length. The velocity of the cur
rent traversing the wire seemed instantaneous, and numerous at
tempts to determine it were made almost immediately after.

Winkler,1 of Leipsic, made an experiment July 28, 1746, includ
ing the river Pleisse in his circuit. Experiments were made in Paris,
including the water of the basin of the Tuileries in the circuit.2
Le Monnier made an experiment with a wire thirteen hundred and
nineteen feet in length, which seemed to show that the velocity was
instantaneous.8 Watson, of England, in 1747, made an experiment,
employing two miles of wire in the air and two of earth in its cir
cuit, with a like result.4

Dr. Franklin performed a similar experiment in 1748.5

Franklin says: "Two iron rods about three feet long were
planted just within the margin of the river, on opposite sides. A
thick piece of wire with a small round knob at its end was fixed on
the top of one of the rods, bending downward so as to deliver com-
modiously the spark upon the surface of the spirit. A small wire
fastened by one end to a handle of the spoon containing the spirit
was carried across the river, and supported in the air by the rope
commonly used to hold by in drawing ferry-boats over. The other
end of this wire was tied round the coating of the bottle, which
being charged, the spark was delivered from the hook to the top of
the rod standing in the water on that side. At the same in
stant the rod on the other side delivered a spark into the spoon,
and fired the spirit, the electric fire returning to the coating of the
bottle, through the handle of the spoon and the supporting wire
connected with them."

POSSIBILITY OF AN ELECTEIC TELEGRAPH. — The existence of
a force that might be stored up and transmitted through great
lengths of wire, and through circuits of great length, of which
the earth formed a part, was demonstrated before the middle of
the eighteenth century. As both Watson and Franklin fired
gunpowder and spirits with the electric force through great
lengths of wire and earth introduced into their circuits, it is
interesting to note how long ago electricity was employed, using
the earth as a part of the circuit, for the transmission of signals.

1 Priestley's " History of Electricity," p. 59.

2 "Encyclopaedia Britannica," edition of 1810, p. 736.

4 Ibid. 5 Parton's " Life of Franklin."

FIRST PROPOSED ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH. 359

Yet these brilliant results do not seem to have been followed
by any immediate effort to produce a practical telegraph for the
transmission of intelligence.

FIRST PROPOSED ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH. — The first person to
propose the use of friction electricity as a medium for transmit
ting intelligence was a contributor to the Soots Magazine, in
1753. The communication was signed " C. M.," and. it is be
lieved to have been written by Charles Marshall, of Paisley, who
was at the time sojourning at Renfrew, from which place the
letter was written : 1

" To the, Editor of the Scots Magazine.

"RENFREW, February 1, 1753.

" SIR : It is well known to all who are conversant in electrical
experiments, that the electric power may Be propagated along a small
wire, from one place to another, without being sensibly abated by
the length of its progress. Let, then, a set of wires, equal in num
ber to the letters of the alphabet, be extended horizontally between
two given places, parallel to one another, and each of them about
an inch distant from that next to it. At every twenty yards' end
let them be fixed in glass or jewelers' cement to some firm body,
both to prevent them from touching the earth or any other non-elec
tric, and from breaking by tneir own gravity. Let the electric gun-
barrel be placed at right angles with the extremities of the wires,
and about one inch below them ; also let the wires be fixed in a
solid piece of glass at six inches from the end, and let that part of
them which reaches from the glass to the machine have sufficient
spring and stiffness to recover its situation after having been
brought in contact with the barrel. Close by the supporting glass
let a ball be suspended from every wire ; and about a sixth or an
eighth of an inch* below the balls place the letters of the alphabet,
marked on bits of paper, or any other substance that may be light
enough to rise to the electrified ball, and at the same time let it
be so continued that each of them may reassume its proper place
when dropped. All things constructed as above, and the minute pre
viously fixed, I begin the conversation with my distant friend in this
manner : Having set the electrical machine agoing, as in ordinary
experiments, suppose I am to pronounce the word sir: with a piece
of glass, or any other electric per se9 1 strike the wire s so as to
bring it in contact with the barrel, then i, then r • all in the same
way ; and my correspondent, almost in the same instant, observes
these several characters rise in order to the electrified balls at his
end of the wires. Thus I spell away as long as I think fit ; and my
correspondent, for the sake of memory, writes the characters as they

1 " Angewandten Electrikitats-Lehre." Kuhn, pp. 798, 822.

260 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

rise, and may join and read them as often, as he inclines. Upon a
signal given, or from choice, I stop the machine, and, taking up the
pen in my turn, I write down whatever my friend at the other end
strikes out. If anybody should think this way tiresome, let him,
instead of the balls, suspend a range of bells from the roof, equal in
number to the letters of the alphabet, gradually decreasing in size
from the bell A to Z / and from the horizontal wires let there be
another set reaching to the several bells ; one, viz., from the hori
zontal wire A to the bell A, another from the horizontal wire IB to
the bell B, etc. Then let him who begins the discourse bring the
wires in contact with the barrel as before ; and the electric spark,
breaking on bells of different size, will inform his correspondent by
the sound what wires have been touched, and thus, by some prac
tice, they may come to understand the language of the chimes in
whole words, without being put to the trouble of noting down every
letter. The same thing may be otherwise effected : Let the balls
be suspended over the characters as before, but, instead of bringing
the ends of the horizontal wires in contact with the barrel, let a sec
ond set reach from the electrified cable, so as to be in contact with
the horizontal ones, and let it be so contrived, at the same time, that
any of them may be removed from its corresponding horizontal by
the slightest touch, and may bring itself again into contact when set
at liberty. This may be done by the help of a small spring and
slides, or twenty other, methods, which the least ingenuity will dis
cover. In this way the characters will always adhere to the balls,
excepting when any one of the secondaries is removed from contact
with its horizontal; and then the letter at the other end of the
horizontal will immediately drop from its ball. But I mention this
only by way of variety. Some may, perhaps, think that, although
the electric fire has not been observed to diminish sensibly in its
progress through any length of wire that has been tried hitherto,
yet, as that has never exceeded some thirty or forty yards, it may
be reasonably supposed that in a far greater length it would be re
markably diminished, and probably would be entirely drained off in a
few miles by the surrounding air. To prevent the objection, and save
longer argument, lay over the wires from one end to the other with
a thin coat of jeweler's cement. This may be done for a trifle of
additional expense ; and, as it is an electric, per se, will effectually
secure any part of the fire from mixing with the atmosphere.

" I am, etc., C. M."

The method proposed by Marshall seems to have contained
the essential elements of telegraphy.

Le Sage, at Geneva, in 1774, devised a plan of electric tele
graphy and put it in operation. It was strikingly like that of Mar
shall, employing a wire for each letter, and producing repulsion
between the pith-balls by an electric discharge for each wire.1

1 Moigno's " T614graphie Electrique," p. 59.

SUCCESSIVE PLANS. 261

Lomond, in 1787, devised an instrument which, operated in
one room, gave intelligent signals in an adjoining apartment.1

Reusser, of Geneva, in 1794, employed the electric spark to
transmit intelligence, using an arrangement of lines and spaces,
with stripes of tin-foil so contrived that, when these spaces were
illuminated by the sparks, the form of the letter or figure was ex
hibited. The illumination of each letter or figure required a direct
and return wire, and, as his plan employed thirty-seven characters,
there were required seventy-four wires between each two stations.
Similar telegraphs were devised by Salva, arid Betancourt, at Madrid,
operating many miles in length, in 1797 and 1798 (Humboldt).

Bockmann, in 1795, proposed the use of sparks, one, two, or more, j
to indicate the letters of the alphabet ; and Cavallo, in 1797, suc
cessfully tested the project through a wire two hundred and fifty-
feet long. Lullin, about the same time, made a like suggestion.2

In " The Wedgwoods, being a Life of Josiah Wedgwood," by
Llewellynn Jewett, London, 1865, is the following notice (p. 178)

of a proposed telegraph :

•

" This Thomas Wedgwood was, I believe, cousin to .Josiah,
being son of Aaron Wedgwood, etc., etc. . . . He was a man of
high scientific attainments, and has the reputation of being the first
inventor of the electric telegraph (afterward so ably carried out by
his son Ralph), and of many other valuable works."

Page 180 : " In 1806, Ralph Wedgwood established himself at
Charing Cross, and soon afterward his whole attention began to
'be engrossed with his scheme of the electric telegraph, which in
the then unsettled state of the kingdom — in the midst of war, it
must be remembered — he considered would be of the utmost impor
tance to the Government. In 1814, having perfected his scheme,
he submitted his proposal to Lord Castlereagh, and most anxiously
waited the result. His son Ralph, having waited on his worship

1 It is thus described by Arthur Young, in his " Travels in France," vol. i., p.
979, fourth edition, 1787: " M. Lomond has made a remarkable discovery in elec
tricity. You write two or three words on a paper ; he takes it into a room, and turns
a machine inclosed in a cylindrical case, at the top of which is an electrometer, a
small pine pith-ball ; a wire connects with a similar cylinder and electrometer in a
distant apartment ; and his wife, by remarking the corresponding motions of the
ball, writes down the words they indicate, from which it appears that he has formed
an alphabet of motion. As the length of the wire makes no difference in the effect,
a correspondence might be carried on at any distance, within or without a besieged
town, for instance, or for objects much more worthy of attention, and a thousand
times more harmless."

2 " Vollst. Abb., d. theor. und prak. Lehre v. d. Electr.," Leipzig, 1797, Bd. ii.,
pp. 337-388.

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

for a decision, as to whether Government would accept the plan of
not, was informed that ' the war being at an end, the old system
was sufficient for the country.' The plan therefore fell to the
ground, until Professor Wheatstone, in happier and more enlight
ened times, again brought the subject forward with such eminent
success. The plan thus brought forward by Ralph Wedgwood, in
1814, and of which, as I have stated, he received the first idea from
his father, was thus described by him in a pamphlet, entitled, « An
Address to the Public on the Advantages of a Proposed Introduc
tion of the Stylographic Principle of Writing into General Use ;
and also of an Improved Species of Telegraphy, calculated for the
Use of the Public, as well as for the Government.' "

The pamphlet is dated, May 29, 1815,

Extract from the Pamphlet.

" A modification of the stylographic principle, proposed for the
adoption of Parliament, in lieu of telegraphs, viz. :

" The Fulguric-Poly graph, which admits of writing in several
distant places at one and the same time, by the agency of two per
sons only.

" This invention is founded on the capacity of electricity, to pro
duce motion in the act of acquiring an equilibrium :

" Which motion by the aid of machinery is made to distribute
matter at the extremities of any given course. And the matter so
distributed being variously modified in correspondence with the
letters of the alphabet, and communicable in rapid succession at
the will of the operator, it is obvious that writing at immense dis
tances hereby becomes practicable ; and further, as lines of com
munication can be multiplied from any given point, and those lines
affected by one and the same application of the electric matter, it
is evident from hence, also, that fac-similes of a dispatch, written
as for instance in London, may with facility be written also in Plym
outh, Dover, Hull, Leith, Liverpool, and Bristol, or any other place,
by the same person, and by one and the same act."

He goes on to speak of the advantages to the public, and

says:

" To the seat of her Government (England), therefore, it must
be highly desirable to effect the most speedy and certain commu
nication from every quarter of the world"

All these employed friction electricity, as did Ronalds, of Eng-
gland, in 1816, on a line eight miles in length, operating with pith-
balls on the faces of synchronous clocks, and Harrison Gray Dyar,
on the Long-Island race-course,1 near New York, in 1827, on a line
of two miles, using the current to discolor prepared paper.
1 Dyar's (defendant's) testimony, "Bain's Case," pp. 13, 327.

GALVANISM. 263

Up to this time the elements out of which to produce a success
ful telegraph had not been brought to light. The agent at command
— friction electricity — was fitful, influenced by the weather, and, at
a distance, liable at times to be feeble.

GALVANISM, OK VOLTAISM. — The discovery of the voltaic pile, in
1800, opened up a new era for invention in telegraphy. It gave the
advantage of the constant current of a battery over the intermitted
shocks of the electrical apparatus. Sb'mmering, in 1809-'!!, em
ployed the electric current developed by the voltaic pile to produce
chemical decompositions with the evolution of visible gas ; he em
ployed thirty-five wires, each wire having the same letter or figure
at either end, and an additional wire for producing an alarum, by
causing an augmentation of gas in a manner to release a detent and
set in motion clock-work to ring a bell. It would of course be pos
sible to transmit words, by producing gas-bubbles at the ends of the
wires, bearing in their order of succession the letters of which the
words were composed. Each of the thirty-five wires had its return-
wire, making seventy in all.

This was not, strictly speaking, a telegraph — a writing at a dis
tance; it was a signal apparatus — a voltaic semaphore. But it
was cumbrous, time-consuming, and interesting chiefly as illustrat
ing how early the projectile force of the voltaic battery was ap
plied to the production of visible chemical effects at a distance.

Schweigger proposed to reduce the great number of wires in
Sommering's apparatus to two, and instead of a tube for the evo
lution of gas for each letter, a single tube only, and the letter to be
indicated by the number of seconds through which the evolution of
hydrogen should continue. This apparatus so simplified was to be
used in connection with a signal-book.

Dr. John Redman Coxe, of Philadelphia, in 1810-'ll, proposed a
plan similar to that of Simmering, which, however, was not carried
out to practical testing.1 He communicated an account of it, which
was published in " Thomson's Annals of Philosophy " (February,
1816).

MAGNETISM. —The date of the discovery of the magnetic needle
was in remote antiquity. The Chinese were familiar with its use
before its introduction into Europe. This instrument, so indispen
sable to the navigation of the ocean and to numerous uses on land,
consists of a slender bar of hardened iron or steel resting at its centre
upon a sharply-pointed support. When this piece of iron was

1 Coxe's deposition, p. 63, defendant's testimony, Morse vs. Bain Telegraph Case.

264 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

rubbed in a certain way with a natural loadstone, or an artificial
magnet, it acquired the property when free to move on its support
of pointing with one extremity to the north, and the other, of
course, to the south. These extremities were respectively called
the north and south poles.

ELECTRO-MAGNETISM. — It was early known that the position of
the needle might be changed by electric discharges in its neighbor
hood, but its susceptibility to the influence of the galvanic current
was the discovery of Oersted, of Copenhagen, in 1819. He found
that when the electric current passes in a direction, north or south,
through a wire, it causes a free magnetic needle immediately above
or below it to assume or tend to assume a position at right angles
to the direction of the current, and that by reversing the direction of
the current the movement of the needle may be alike reversed.

This observation, usually ascribed to Oersted, seems to have
been first made by Romagn6si, a physicist of Trent. In a work
entitled " Manuel du Galvanisme," par Joseph Lyarn, Paris, 1864,
under the heading, " Appareil pour reconnaitre 1'action du galva-
nisme, sur la polarite d'une aiguille aimante'e," after explaining the
way to prepare the apparatus, which consists simply in putting a
freely suspended magnetic needle parallel and close to a straight
metallic conductor, through which a galvanic current is circulating,
he described the effects in the following words : " D'apres les obser
vations de Romagnesi, physicien de Trente, 1'aiguille deja aimantee,
et que 1'on soumet ainsi au courant galvanique, e"prouve une d6cli-
naison ; et d'apres celles de J. Mojon, savant chimiste de Genes,
les aiguilles non aimantees acquierent, par ce moyen, une sorte de
polarite magne"tique."

In the next year Schweigger, of Halle,1 discovered that the de
flection of the needle may be increased by coiling an insulated wire
in a series of ovals or flat rings, compactly disposed, in a loop, and
conducting the current around the needle from end to end ; and
produced the " galvanic multiplier," by which the deflection of the
needle was much greater and more prompt. This discovery was
the basis of the galvanometer, invented and first used by Professor
Joseph Henry, of the United States.

Ampere, following up the discovery of Schweigger, developed
the theory of electro-magnetism, which has since been universally
adopted. He proposed to the French Academy at its session, Octo
ber 2, 1820 (u Comptes Rendus"), a plan for a telegraph, in which

1 Kuhn, "Ang. Elek.-Lehre," p. 514.

AMPERE'S DISCOVERY. 265

there was to be a needle for each letter. Ampere ascribes the origi
nal suggestion to Laplace.

Ritchie, in 1830, carried out this idea to a model by surrounding
each needle with a coil of wire, so arranged as to disclose a letter
in connection with the deflection of each needle. Mr. Alexander,
of Edinburgh, made another modification in 1837.

The telegraph of Baron Pawel Larrowitsch Schilling, of Cron-
stadt, was based on the suggestion of Ampere. He had been asso
ciated with Simmering as early as 1810 (Kuhn, p. 836). His plan
seems to have been matured and set in practical operation, accord
ing to Amyot, in 1832-'33, but he was unable to secure such satis
factory demonstrations as would justify the support of the Rus
sian Government until 1836, and in 1837 this persevering philoso
pher and inventor died. His instrument, however, exhibited by
Moncke to William Fothergill Cooke in 1836, awoke his inven
tive genius, and he produced in the same year a needle telegraph,
and in 1837 Cooke and Wheatstone a still more perfect needle
telegraph.

Before Oersted, and Ampere, and Schweigger, the needle tele
graph was impossible. After their discoveries reciprocal motion, or
alternate right-and-left deflection, needed only a constant battery to
render signal telegraphy possible. But recording telegraphy re
quired a greater amount of force at the receiving station than was
needed to move the needle, and another system of device must be
brought into service.

The unequal action of the battery was a serious obstacle to
progress in the direction of needle telegraphy, and, before research
had overcome the difficulties ultimately surmounted by Daniel, the
science of electro-magnetism had made great strides in a new direc
tion.

The first step in this direction was taken by Arago immediately
after the discovery of Oersted, in the same year with the discovery
of the multiplier by Schweigger. He magnetized a straight iron
bar or needle by placing it in a long spiral of wire and transmitting
the galvanic current through the coil.

De la Rive sent a current through a close circuit of insulated
copper wire, showing that the ring produced by the current ac
quired singular magnetic properties. Barlow, in describing the
apparatus, in 1 824, says : " A fine copper wire covered with silk
thread is coiled five or six times, and tied together so as to form a
ring about an inch in diameter, and the ends of the wire are con-

266 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

nected one with the zinc and the other with the copper slip above
.the cork. When the apparatus is placed in water, slightly acidu
lated with sulphuric or nitric acid, the ring becomes highly mag
netic," etc.

In this year Schweigger produced the flat spiral or volute coil.
In 1824 Barlow gives a diagram of the volute in one plane, in
vented by Schweigger, and says, page 266 : " The best form for
the spiral, however, is that in which the wire lies all in one plane "
(as in Fig. 24). (This figure exhibits a coil like the hair-spring of
a watch.) "This being connected by its two extremities with the
poles of the battery will take up an astonishing quantity of filings,
which, by their reciprocal attraction toward each other, exhibit the
most pleasing appearance."

The discovery of the action of the spiral coil upon the magnetic
needle seems to have been independently made by Ampere, in 1821 :
" I showed," he says " that the current which is in the pile acts on
the magnetic needle by the conjunctive wire. I described the in
strument, which I proposed to construct, and, among others, the
galvanic spiral. I read a note upon the electro-chemical effects of a
spiral of iron wire, subjected to the action of the earth, directing
an electric current as well as a magnet.

" T announced the new fact of the attraction and repulsion of
two electric currents, without the intermediation of any magnet, a
fact which I had observed in spirals twisted spirallv." 1

Arago's discovery, that soft iron may be rendered a temporary
magnet by placing it within a helix of wire, through which is circu
lating a galvanic current, dates 1821. He says : " A piece of soft
iron, when surrounded by a helix of wire and a current of galvanic
electricity passed through it, becomes a temporary magnet." a

Sir Humphrey Davy arrived at the same discovery of electrical
induction in soft iron in 1821. " Simultaneously with Arago's ex
periments, Davy arrived at the same facts." J

THE HORSESHOE ELECTRO-MAGNET. — The next step was taken
by Mr. William Sturgeon, of London, in 1825. He found that by
coiling copper wire loosely around a varnished piece of insulated
soft iron, bent into the form of a horseshoe, the successive coils out
of contact with each other, he could convert the non-magnetic soft

1 YellocKs Journal of Science, vol. Ivii. p. 47, 1821.

2 Yettoctt* Journal of Science, vol. Ivii., p. 42, 1821. Also, "Encyclopaedia Bri-
tannica," vol. viii., p. 662.

c " Encyclopaedia Britannica," vol. viii., p. 662.

HORSESHOE MAGNET. 267

iron into an electro-magnet. When the current was interrupted,
the soft iron ceased to be magnetic ; when the current was restored,
the iron became again magnetic. This gave the possibility of pro
ducing reciprocal motion. The capacity, thus imparted to the iron
to attract other iron, and to release it when the current was in
terrupted, was, in two particulars, not suited to be used in tele
graphy. It employed a quantity battery, consisting of a single
pair, and the length of wire connecting the battery with the magnet
was inconsiderable.

The researches of these philosophers reached America in due
time. The first to discuss them in public lectures was Professor
James Freeman Dana, brother of the late distinguished Dr. Samuel
L. Dana, of Lowell. In a course of lectures before the New
York Athenaeum, in the months of January and February, 1827,
Professor Dana exhibited and experimented with Sturgeon's mag
net, and used the following suggestive language, which is to be
found in the manuscript copy of his lectures now in the Harvard
University Library :

" The effect of the conjunctive wire in impressing the magnetic
state is uniform and constant, and we can infer with absolute cer
tainty the kind of magnetism wThich will be exhibited by either end
of the needle, by reference to its position with regard to the wire.
We are led to this by our previous knowledge of the positions
assumed by a magnetic needle under the influence of the wire.
Thus if the electric current flow from the right hand to the left,
and the needle to be magnetized be placed over the wire, the end
pointing from us will acquire the austral magnetism, or a north
polarity, etc. We have seen that the pole of the magnetic needle,
over which the positive electricity enters, turns to the east, but the
pole under which it enters turns to the west. If, therefore, a needle
be placed between two conjunctive wires situated in the same ver
tical plane, and transmitting the electric current in opposite direc
tions, it is evident that both will conspire to produce the same
effect, which will consequently be much more considerable than
that produced by either of them alone ; but a wire bent in this

form, having its two ends connected with the opposite poles of the
voltaic instrument, will evidently have the electric current passing
in opposite directions in its upper and lower portions, and conse
quently it will produce on a needle, between them, an effect similar
to that produced by the two wires. Wires thus situated produce a
more prompt development of magnetism in steel than a single wire

268 LIFE OF SAMUEL B. F. MORSE.

does, because both tend to turn the same kind of magnetism in the
same direction, and the opposite magnetisms in opposite directions,
and hence we have one method of measuring the action of a bat
tery on steel bars. Again, two parallel wires, having the electric
current moving through them, in the same direction, will evidently
produce a greater effect on a steel bar than either of them alone,
for the effect of the whole must be greater than that of a part.

" When several conjunctive wires are placed together, side by
side, the force is apparently diminished in the central wires, and
concentrated in the extreme portions ; the magnetic state of the
latter seems to be augmented by induction or by position.

" When such an assemblage of wires act on the magnetism of a
piece of steel, they decompose it, and each individual wire acts
with more force on the magnetism nearest to it. Each conspires,
in its action, to produce the same effect as the others ; and hence, in
addition to the effects of currents in opposite directions, we have
another method of increasing the power of a battery in magnetiz
ing needles. We shall probably render steel strongly magnetic, if
we continue these two methods of increasing the effect. This is
effected by forming the conjunctive wire into a spiral around the
steel bar to be magnetized ; for, at the opposite extremities of any
diameter of this spiral, it is evident that the electric current moves
in opposite directions. Suppose the spiral to be placed horizontally,
east and west, the current in its upper part to move from north to
south, it will, at its lower part move from south to north, and the
spiral thus gives us the combined influence of currents in opposite
directions. Moreover, the different coils of the spiral are nearly at
right angles with the axis of the included bar, and they are parallel
to each other. Hence, at any given portion of the bar, the effect
of many currents passing in the same direction is produced, and the
included bar becomes magnetic ; and a spiral placed round a piece
of soft iron bent into the form of a horseshoe magnet, renders it
strongly and powerfully magnetic when the electric current is pass
ing through it. ...

" The opposite sides of a conjunctive wire exhibit the opposite
magnetisms; and we have seen that, by placing the wires paral
lel to each other and connecting them with a battery so that the}7
may transmit the current in the same direction, the magnetisms
seem to be concentrated in the extreme wires, arid that we can thus
separate them in a degree from each other. Now, when we con
sider that the direction of the magnetic power is at right angles to
the conjunctive wire, it is evident that in a helix, this direction
must nearly coincide with that of the axis of the helix, and the one
kind of magnetism be found concentrated at one extremity, and the
other kind at the opposite end. . . .

" Iron filings adhering to dissimilarly electro-magnetic wires re
pel each other, and to similarly electro-magnetic wires, attract each
other.

" In the course of our reasoning, by which we were led from

PROFESSOR JOSEPH HENRY. 269

step to step to the adoption of a spiral or helix in powerfully de
veloping magnetism in bars, we inferred that two or more parallel
and similarly electro-magnetic wires acted with greater energy than
one, and that the magnetisms were accumulated in the extreme
wires by a species of induction between them all. A ribbon of
metal substituted for these wires exerts a stronger influence on the
needle at its edge than at its sides, for a similar reason. So, also,
if a series of concentric wires be used, and the electric current sent
through them in the same direction, we infer that they will have
the power of the corresponding sides of the different rings concen
trated and accumulated in their common centre, and will on the same
side of their centre act as parallel similarly electro-magnetic wires.
A flat spiral, or volute, having two ends connected with the oppo
site poles of the battery, will correctly represent concentric rings
under the condition we have proposed ; and the great quantity of
iron filings which such a spiral or volute takes up, and the accumu
lation of them in the centre, fully evinces the concentration of
power there, and the correctness of the reasoning by which we
have been led to the modification of the conjunctive wire."

The next step was taken by Professor Joseph Henry, Secretary
of the Smithsonian Institution, then Professor of Physics in the Al
bany Academy.1 Reflecting on the increased magnetic effects ob
served in the compact coils of insulated wire of Schweigger, he first
employed the insulated wire of many concentric coils to make an
electro-magnet. By a covering of silk or cotton, successive coils of
the wire were kept distinct and apart, so that it could be compactly
wound in successive layers upon itself, and thus a current could be
made to pass an indefinite number of times around an iron bar, and
the power of the bar to attract other iron multiplied alike some
what correspondingly, and this with the use of a comparatively
small battery. He also, for the first time, in 1829, employed the
battery of many pairs, to send from a distance a current through
insulated wire, many times wound up on itself, around a horseshoe-
shaped soft-iron bar, and demonstrated the dependence of the pro
jectile force of the current upon the number, instead of the size, of
plates. The discovery may be thus stated : He found that a bat
tery of a single pair, the zinc plate four by seven inches, at a dis
tance of eight feet, operating through a coil of insulated wire, eight
feet long, wound around a small horseshoe magnet, produced mag
netism enough to lift four and one-half pounds. At a distance of
one thousand and sixty feet, it lifted but half an ounce, only -^ as
much.

1 "Transactions of the Albany Institute," June, 1828.

270 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

By now substituting a Cruikshank's battery, in which was ex
actly the same amount of zinc surface — but in twenty-five plates
instead of one — the magnet, at a distance of one thousand and sixty
feet, as before, lifted eight ounces. That is, by dividing the zinc
plate into twenty-five plates, and putting each with its fellow of
copper into a separate cell, the power to lift at a distance of one
thousand and sixty feet was increased sixteen times.1

Had this discovery been preceded by the constant battery of
Daniel (which was not invented until 1836), practical registering
electro-magnetic telegraphy would have been possible in 1828.
Barlow, of England, had observed, in 1825, that the power of the
galvanic current he employed diminished with the increase of the
distance from the battery ; but Henry's researches had shown that
by employing a battery of many pairs — which he called an intensity
battery — and by causing the wire to pass a great number of times
concentrically around a bar of iron, it was possible to produce the
physical result of motion, with a feeble current, at relatively great
distances from its source.

Barlow had employed a quantity battery — a battery of a single
pair. Henry employed a battery of many pairs — an intensity bat
tery.

Professor Henry, in his paper in Silliman's Journal, January,

1831, after repeating the results of the paper of 1828, says: "The
fact that the magnetic action of a current from a trough is, at least,
not sensibly diminished by passing through a long wire, is directly
applicable to Mr. Barlow's project of forming an electro-magnetic
telegraph, and also of material consequence in the construction of
the galvanic coil."

The first suggestion contemplating a really practical distance
came from Fechner, who says, in 1829 (Kuhn, p. 835) : " There is no
doubt that if twenty-four different multipliers — the number of the
letters — were in Leipsic, for example, arid the insulated wire con
ducted under ground to Dresden, we should have a medium, not
very costly, perhaps, through which determined characters could be
sent instantaneously from one to the other." He says further, in

1832, that, "by the employment of a very thinly-wound (insulated)
copper wire, coated with silver, of which one foot in uncovered
condition weighed 1.95 grain, a pile of one hundred and seven
small platinum pairs would be adequate for telegraphic communi
cations ten geographical miles. The length of wire for such a dis-

1 Silliman's Journal, January, 1831.

OHM'S LAW. 271

tance, both ways, would require for each letter twenty miles of wire,
which would involve no small outlay." Fechner also pointed out
that the "telegraphic conduction does not depend on the great
thickness of the pairs of plates, and the strength of the conducting
fluid (quantity of electricity), but, on the contrary, on the number
of the pairs of plates in the pile ; and would increase in direct re
lation to the thickness of the wire." :

" Ohm's Law," of 1825, and " Schweigger's Multiplier," of 1820,
were here first traced out to their practical end, of a galvanic sema
phore. The conditions were expressed on which the success of the
needle invention depended — numerous jmirs, a large conducting
wire, multiplied convolutions of insulated wire. All were wrapped
up in these few clear sentences of Fechner, before 1832.

" Ohm's Formulae. — The amount of electric or chemical power
developed in the voltaic circuit, or, in other words, the quantity of
electricity which passes through a transverse section of the circuit
in a unit of time, evidently depends upon two conditions, viz., the
power or electro-motive force of the battery, and the resistance
offered to the passage of the current by the conductors, liquid or
solid, which it has to traverse. With a given amount of resist
ance, the power of the battery is proportional to the quantity of
electricity developed in a given time ; and by a double or treble re
sistance, we mean simply that which, with a given amount of ex
citing power in the battery, reduces the quantity of electricity
developed, or work done, to one-half or one-third. If, then, the
electro-motive force of the battery be denoted by E, and the re
sistance by JR, we have, for the quantity of electricity passing
through the circuit in a unit of time, the expression :

This is called Ohm's law, from the name of the distinguised mathe
matician who first announced it.

"By means of the formula (1), we may estimate the effect pro
duced on the strength of the current by increasing the number and
size of the plates of the battery. The resistance It consists of two
parts, viz., that which the current experiences io passing through
the cells of the battery itself, and that which is offered by the ex
ternal conductor which joins the poles ; this conductor may consist
either wholly of metal, or partly of metal and partly of electrolytic
liquids. Let the resistance within the battery be r, and the ex
ternal resistance T' 'f then, in the one-celled battery we have :

1 In this he vras anticipated by Professor Henry, as above.

£72 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE. .

Now, suppose the battery to consist of n cells ^perfectly similar,
then the electro-motive force becomes n£, the resistance within the
battery nr ; if, then, the external resistance remains the same, the
strength of the current will be denoted by :

nE E
a = - : = - r .... (3). • •

If r' be small, this expression has nearly the same value as -^ ;
that is to say, if the circuit be closed bv a good conductor, such as
a short thick wire, the quantity of electricity developed by the com
pound battery of n cells is sensibly the same as that evolved by a
single cell of the same dimensions. But if r' is of considerable
amount, as when the circuit is closed by a long thin wire, or when
an electrolyte is interposed, the strength of the current increases
considerably with the number of plates. In fact the expression (3)
is always greater than (2) ; for —

nE E (n — 1) Er'

nr + r' r + r' (nr + r') (r + r')

a quantity which is necessarily positive when n is greater than
unity.

" Suppose, in the next place, that the size of the plates is in
creased, while their number remains the same, then, according to
the chemical theory, an increase in the surface of metal acted upon
must produce a proportionate increase in the quantity of electricity
developed, provided the conducting power of the circuit is sufficient
to give it passage.

" According to the theory which attributes the development of
the electricity to the contact of dissimilar metals, an increase in
the size of the plates does not increase the electro-motive force, but
it diminishes the resistance within the cells of the battery by offer
ing a wider passage to the electricity. Hence, in the single cell, if
the surface of the plates, and therefore the transverse section of the
liquid be increased m times, the expression for the strength of the
current becomes :

_E mE

r . r + mr' '
— + r
• m

If r' be small, this expression is nearly the same as ~^ ; that is to
say, the quantity of electricity in the current increases very nearly
in the same ratio as the size of the plates ; but when the external
resistance is considerable, the advantage gained by increasing the
size of the plates is much less.

" We may conclude, then, that when the resistance in the circuit
is small, as in electro-magnetic experiments, a small number of
large plates is the most advantageous form of battery ; but in over-

MAGNETIC ELECTRICITY. 273

coming great resistances, power is gained by increasing the number
rather than the size of the plates." :

MAGNETO-ELECTKICITY. — The phenomena of electro-dynamic in
duction, or of magneto-electricity, were first discovered by Faraday
in 1831, and published in 1832.

Professor Henry investigated the laws of these phenomena, and
discovered induced currents of a second and third order, and so on
through a series of five terms (Kuhn, p. 671). Upon these dis
coveries was based the magneto-electric induction apparatus (as
distinguished from hydro-electric induction apparatus) of which
Gauss and Weber availed themselves to produce a needle telegraph.
" A circuit of wire 7,460 feet long was led across the houses and
steeples of Gottingen, from the Observatory to the Cabinet of
Natural Philosophy, requiring no especial insulation, which was a
fact of great importance. The principle was thereby at once es
tablished of bringing the galvanic telegraph to the most convenient
form. . . .

" All that was required in addition to this, was to render the
signs audible ; a task that apparently presented no very great diffi
culty, inasmuch as in the very scheme itself a mechanical motion,
namely, the deflection of a magnetic bar, was given.

" Should it be desired that the indicator should write, it is
merely required to adapt to one end of the magnectic bar a small
vessel filled with a black color, and terminating in a capillary tube.
This tube, instead of striking a bell, thus makes a black spot upon
some flat surface held in front of it. If these spots are to compose
writing, the surface upon which they are printed must be kept mov
ing in front of the indicator with a uniform velocity ; and this is
easily brought about, by means of an endless strip of paper, which
is rolled off one cylinder on to another by clock-work." !

It will be seen that the idea of the acoustic as well as the re
cording telegraph, which was subsequently developed at the sug
gestion of Gauss and Weber, by Steinheil, is here foreshadowed.

Steinheil's invention was produced in 1837, and published in
1838. The telegraph was in actual operation through a circuit of
six miles — from 1838 to 1844 — when Professor Steinheil became
fully acquainted with the recording telegraph of Professor Morse,
and recommended its adoption in place of his own and of all others,

1 Watt's "Dictionary of Chemistry," vol. ii., p. 459.

2 "Annals of Electricity," vol. iii., p. 448, No. 1Y, 'March, 1839, copied from the
" Gottingen Gelehrte Anzeigen," p. 1,272, 1834.

18

274 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

upon the whole system of telegraph-lines of which he was super
intendent. Steinheil's apparatus, which elicited great admiration
as a product of inventive genius, produced sounds on bells — an
effect achieved ten years before as a result of electro-magnetism, by
Professor Henry, at Albany, in 1828, and described in a letter by
Professor James Hall * as having been witnessed by himself in that
year. Steinheil's apparatus also recorded messages in alphabetic
characters of ink, consisting of combinations of dots and spaces in
two rows.2

Steinheil discovered what had been remarked in regard to fric-
tional electricity nearly a hundred years before, by Winckler, Le
Monnier, Watson, and Franklin, that the galvanic current could be
transmitted through the earth as a part of the circuit, and thus re
duced the number of wires necessary for the operation of his
telegraph to one.

Wheatstone at a later period enriched this field of invention
with his dial magneto-electric telegraph, of such great merit and
extensive use.

With the mention of the constant battery of Daniel, produced
in 1836, and perhaps the amalgamation of the zinc plate by Stur
geon, the enumeration of the discoveries entering into the invention
of .the electric telegraph will be complete.

We have glanced at the types of telegraphs resting on friction
electricity, those resting on the deflection of the magnetic needle,
by Schweigger's multiplier, and those resting on magneto-elec
tricity.

Simmering had produced a galvanic telegraph, producing sig
nals, by the evolution of gas-bottles in a series of tubes, and em
ploying the chemical powers of the battery. Schilling, Ritchie,
Alexander, and Cook and Wheatstone, had employed the electro
magnet to produce signals by deflecting needles. Gauss and Weber,
and Steinheil, employed magneto-electric apparatus, without a bat
tery, to deflect needles, or large, straight, permanent magnets. The
former proposed, and the latteri nvented, a needle device which
produced sounds on bells, and recorded messages in an alphabet of
dots and spaces. Professor Henry, before 1832, had rung a bell by
operating upon one end of a large needle, or a straight magnet,
poised between the two poles of an electro-magnet, while the oppo
site end was made by the transmission of the current from a battery

1 " Smithsonian Report," p. 96, 1857.

2 H. Schellen, Braunschweig, p. 79, 1864.

DISCOVERY AND INVENTION. 275

to strike a bell. To neither of these types did the recording elec
tro-magnetic telegraph belong. Professor Morsels invention icas a
new departure.

CLAIMS OF DISCOVERERS AND INVENTORS.

It is natural and proper, when a great and useful art has been
born to civilization, that all persons, and especially the friends of the
persons who have had a share in the production and perfection of
the art, should feel jealously alive to the just distribution of the
honors which follow such an event.

Such honors are sometimes, not infrequently, indeed, unfairly
distributed. Adventitious circumstances may cause mistake. The
memory is sometimes at fault. The claims of some may be exag
gerated. The just claims of others may be overlooked. It will
serve to open up the subject, if we consider a little carefully the
meaning of some of the words we use.

A tele-graph is, literally, a writing at a distance. Strictly
speaking, the earlier forms of signal apparatus were not tele
graphs ; they were semaphores — signal-bearers.

The signal may be addressed to the eye or to the ear. If to
the former, it would be a visual ; to the latter, an acoustic sema
phore. Franklin, Watson, De Luc, Cavallo, and others, employed
friction electricity to flash powder and fire alcohol. These experi
ments heralded an electric visual semaphore. They also rang
bells by electricity, and in so doing foreshadowed an acoustic
semaphore.

The plans of Le Sage, Lomond, Reusser, Boeckman, Salva,
Betancourt, and Ronalds, were of the class of electric semaphores.
That of Harrison Gray Dyar approached nearly to that of an electric
telegraph.

Voltaic semaphores belong necessarily to this century. They
were only possible after the recognition of the fact that the current
might be made effective at a distance by the use of the pile, or bat
tery of many pairs. Sb'mmering's, in 1809-'ll, was the first of
the class, and established the fact that visible effects could be pro
duced at a distance of ten thousand feet.1 His device was a visual
semaphore. Bain's so-called electro-chemical plan, of 1846, was a
voltaic telegraph. He •employed a battery, but not a magnet, and
wrote and printed with Morse's alphabet.

1 Zuhn, 1866.

276 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Electro-magnetic semaphores were possible only after the dis
covery of Oersted, in 1819, and the discovery of the multiplier, in
1820, by Schweigger. The first of these was projected by Ampere,
but never carried out. It was a needle device. Visible signs were
to be made by the deflection of a needle, the voltaic current being
sent through a multiplier, or long link-shaped coil of insulated wire,
within which a needle was freely suspended or supported. The
next seems to have been Schilling's, made some time between 1820
and 1832, a rude copy of which, made by Professor Moncke, of
Heidelberg, aroused at a later period (1836) the spirit of invention
of Cooke.

The magneto-electric visual semaphore of Gauss and Weber
appeared in 1833. The development of this type by Steinheil to
an acoustic semaphore and an actual recording telegraph was ac
complished in 1837.

Cooke's needle semaphore came in 1836, and Cooke and Wheat-
stone's in 1837. These were not writing or printing instruments.
They made evanescent signs, which could be observed, translated,
and recorded.

Electro-magnetic telegraphs were not practicable before an in
tensity battery had been employed in connection with a distant
electro-magnet, surrounded with a multiplied insulated coil. This
was first actually done through a distance of 1,060 feet, in 1828-'29,
by Professor Henry. This experiment demonstrated that with in
creased power in the battery, with improvements in the magnet,
and inventions of special mechanical devices, an electro-magnetic
telegraph for registration at distances sufficiently great to meet the
wants of the every-day world, might be devised. The invention,
however, in its most elementary condition, was not made for four
years thereafter, and then without a knowledge of these experi
ments, nor was it brought into working condition for three more,
and then at first without employing either of these essential ele
ments, to wit, the magnet of multiplied coils, the battery of multi
plied pairs, and the long conductor ; and more than two years addi
tional passed before a caveat was lodged, and three more before a
patent was granted, and still four years elapsed before the invention
was in successful public service.

This delay between the discovery of a scientific truth, and its
application to the useful arts, is not unusual.

POSSIBILITY OF THE INVENTION. 277

INTERVAL AFTER THE POSSIBILITY OF AN INVENTION BEFORE THE
INVENTION WAS MADE.

After WinJder's experiment with a long conducting wire at
Leipsic, in 1744, and Watson's experiment in 1747-'48, with a cir
cuit of two miles of wire and two of earth ; and Franklin's experi
ments, from 1748 to 1754, exhibiting reciprocal motion, rotation of
wheels, ringing of bells, firing of combustibles, etc., it was possible
to produce electric signals conveying intelligence.

The first that appeared was that of Le Sage, in 1774, after an
interval of twenty years; then Lomond's in 1787, after thirty-
three years; then Reusser's in 1794, after forty years; then Salva's
with a conducting wire of many miles, in 1796, after about forty-
two years; then Betancourt's, of twenty-six miles, in 1797-'98,
after forty-three years ; then Ronald's, in 1816, after sixty-two
years; and then Harrison G. Dyar's, in 1828, after seventy-four
years.

After the discovery of the pile of Volt a, in 1800, it was possible
to invent —

SOmmering's electro-chemical semaphore, which did not appear
till 1809-'ll, after eleven years. J. Redman Coxe's (of Philadel
phia) suggestion dates 1816, after sixteen years. Bain's electro
chemical recording telegraph, which did not appear till 1846, after
forty-six years.

After OerstecVs discoveries of 1819 and 1820, and especially of
Schweigger's multiplier, constructed with insulated wire immedi
ately after it was possible to produce Ampere's suggestion (or
invention), which appeared the same year, and of which he re
marks that this result had been suggested by Laplace.

Schilling's invention was in progress from 1820 to 1832, a period
of twelve years.

Cooke and Wheatstone's invention in 1836-'37, after sixteen
years.

After Sturgeons electro-magnet, in 1826, when an electro-mag
netic recording telegraph was possible for short distances, Morse's
conception came in 1832, after six years.

After Henry's electro-magnet, wound with insulated wire in
1828, published in 1831, which made electro-magnetic telegraphy
possible for increased distances, came Morse's receiving or relay
battery and recording telegraph, invented in 1832, and in working
condition in 1836, after an interval of five years. It was publicly

OfVQ

A/ i O

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

exhibited in 1837, after six years ; and operated between Baltimore
and Washington in 1844, after thirteen years.

After Faraday* sand Henry* s discoveries in magneto-electricity,
in 1831, came Gauss and Weber's needle telegraph, in 1833, two
years later, and SteinheiPs telegraph, in 1837, after six years.
Steinheil had demonstrated the practicability of using the earth for
a part of the electro-magnetic circuit in 1838. It was not used in
this country until 1845.

After the invention of Daniell's constant battery, in 1835, the
successful electro-magnetic telegraph was practicable.

As we have now fixed some of the more important dates and in
tervals, let us put on record two or three more that we need to
bear in mind — recalling that, while Sommering and Bain needed
only the voltaic pile or a battery of many pairs, Schilling, Cooke,
and Wheatstone needed in addition the galvanic multiplier ; Morse
the battery and electro-magnet; Gauss, Weber, and Steinheil a
magneto-electric machine.

SOmmering's voltaic semaphore preceded Schilling's needle
semaphore by a dozen years and more.

In point of time, Morse's invention on the Sully preceded
Cooke's at Heidelberg by four years— 1832-'36.

In point of construction and actual working, Morse preceded
Cooke by a year— 1835-'36.

In point of exhibition to the public, Cooke and Wheatstone were
coincident with Morse — 1837.

In point of actual use by the public, Cooke and Wheatstone
preceded Morse by six years — 1838-'44.

These relations of discovery to invention and practical applica
tion may be illustrated in tabular form :

Constant bat
tery of Daniell,
1835, without
which the elec
tro -magnetic
telegraph would
not have suc
ceeded.

Volta, 1800.

Oersted, 1819.
Schweigger, 1820.

Arago, in 1820.
Sturgeon, in 1825.
Henry, in 1829.

Faraday, in 1831.

f Electro-chemical semaphores.
•{ Soemmering's, in 1809-'!!.
(. Bain's electro-chemical telegraph, in 1846.

f Needle semaphores.

Ampere's, in 1820.
\ Schilling's, 1820-'32.

Cooke's, in 1836.
(. Cooke and Wheatstone's, in 1837.

•j Eecording telegraph of Morse, in 1832.

Magneto-electric telegraphs.
Gauss and Weber's, in 1833-'84.
Steinheil's, in 1837.
Wheatstone's later business alphabet— semaphore.

Having thus,before us the great facts in the history of the new

CLAIMS TO ORIGINALITY. 279

art, we are in condition to examine more carefully into the claims
to originality and priority of the discoverers and inventors.

Let us have distinct ideas in our assignment of credit. The dis
covery of a law, or the invention of a device, may be strictly origi
nal to two or more persons. It may be made by one in ignorance
that it had been made by another before him, or the two may have
been coincident in time as well as result. It may have been made
and never published or communicated to others.

Volta was alone in the invention of the pile.

Sommering was alone in observing that the current of the vol
taic pile might be projected to great distances with as effective
force to produce chemical decompositions as at moderate distances.

Oersted was alone in originality 1 and time in observing the de
flection of the needle by the galvanic current.

Schweigger was alone in originality and time in the multiplier
of insulated wire.

Arago was alone in magnetizing iron in the axis of a long
oblique spiral.

Sturgeon was alone in the electro-magnet with the loose oblique
spiral ; and later in amalgamating the zinc element of the battery.

Moll and Henry were coincident* in the quantity magnet with a
single pair.

Henry was alone in the insulated concentric coil and multiplied
windings applied to a horseshoe-shaped bar of iron with a single
pair and with many pairs.

Henry was alone in the insulated concentric wire of many wind
ings and battery of many pairs at a distance from the electro
magnet.

Now, all these discoveries, in so far as the attribute of original
ity is concerned, were in some degree suggested, somewhat in their
order of succession, by the publication of the discoveries which pre
ceded them.

Oersted deflected a needle slowly with a single wire, Schweigger
quickly with multiplied coils.

Arago made straight hard iron (steel) magnetic by a single loose
long coil.

Sturgeon made a horseshoe of soft iron magnetic with a loose
long coil of sixteen turns and lifted nine pounds in 1825-'26.
Moll made a closer single coil of eighty-three turns and lifted seven-

1 It seems that, possibly, Oersted was anticipated by Romagnesi. (See p. 264.)

280 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

ty-five pounds, and finally one hundred and thirty-five pounds, in

1828.

Henry, with greatly multiplied concentric coils, lifted more than
a ton in 1830. All these operated by a battery of a single pair of
plates, and little interval between the battery and the magnet.

Now, Henry started out, before the publication of Moll, with a
new combination of many pairs, many concentric coils, and distance
between the battery and the magnet, and found, as the experiment
seemed to show, that the effect of the current in magnetizing soft
iron at this distance was at least not appreciably less at a distance
of one thousand and sixty feet than at points near the battery.

WHAT THE INVENTOR OF THE ELECTRO-MAGNETIC RECORDING TELE
GRAPH MUST HAVE KNOWN.

What was needed to the original conception of the Morse re
cording telegraph ?

1. A knowledge that soft iron, bent in the form of a horseshoe,
could be magnetized by sending a galvanic current through a coil
wound round the iron, and that it would lose its magnetism when
the current was suspended.

2. A knowledge that such a magnet had been made to lift and
drop masses of iron of considerable weight.

3. A knowledge, or a belief, that the galvanic current could be
transmitted through wires of great length.

These were all. Now comes the conception of devices for em
ploying an agent which could produce reciprocal motion to effect
registration, and the invention of an alphabet. In order to this in
vention, it must be seen how up and down — reciprocal — motion
could be produced by the opening and closing of the circuit. Into
this simple band of vertical tracery of paths in space must be
thrown the shuttle of time and a ribbon of paper. It must be seen
how a lever-pen, alternately dropping upon, and rising at defined
intervals from, a fillet of paper, moved by independent clock-work,
would produce the fabric of the alphabet and writing and printing.

Was there any thing required to produce these results which
was not known to Morse ?

Of the details of scientific research bearing on electro-mag
netism, scattered through journals of various languages, Professor
Morse knew comparatively little. He was a liberally educated

WHAT MR. MORSE KNEW. 281

gentleman, devoted to the art of painting. He had somewhat
unusual advantages. He had attended the courses of lectures of
Professor Silliman and Professor Day, embracing the sciences of
galvanism and electricity, when an under-graduate, in 1808-'10, at
Yale College. He had been an assistant to Professor Silliman in
his laboratory in 1822 and the years following. He had, at a later
period, attended the lectures of Professor James Freeman Dana,
before the Athenaeum in New York, and witnessed an original and
brilliant course of experimental lectures, embracing all that was
known in 1827 on electro-magnetism, with something of prophetic
suggestion.

He knew generally, when he stepped on board the Sully, in
1832, that a soft-iron horseshoe-shaped bar of iron could be ren
dered magnetic while a current of galvanic electricity was passing
through a wire wound round it ; and he knew that electricity had
been transmitted, apparently instantaneously, through wires of
great length, by Franklin and others. In the course of conver
sation on board that vessel, the topic of the velocity of the electric
current arose. In the leisure of ship-life, the idea of a recording
electric telegraph seized Professor Morse's mind, and he gave ex
pression to his conviction that it was possible. As it was possible
to dispatch and to arrest the current, he conceived that some de
vice could be found for compelling it to manifest itself by this inter
mittent action, and produce a record.

He knew, for he had witnessed it years before, that, by means
of a battery and an electro-magnet, reciprocal motion could be pro
duced. He knew that the force which produced it could be trans
mitted along a wire. He believed that the battery current could be
made, through an electro-magnet, to produce physical effects at a
distance. He saw in his mind's eye the existence of an agent and
a medium by which reciprocal motion could be not only produced
but controlled at a distance. The question that addressed itself to
him at the outset was naturally this : " How can I make use of the
simple up-and-down motion of opening and closing a circuit to write
an intelligible message at one end of a wire and at the same time
print it at the other ? "

If we pause a moment to consider that in our ordinary writing
with' a pen upon paper we must employ at least a hundred differ
ently shaped and proportioned lines, and produce them by many
hundred combinations of nerve arid muscular effort, and that in
printing we must have not less than about thirty-six letters and

282 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

figures, we shall appreciate the grandeur of Morse's conception, in
which any message whatever could be written at one end of the
wire and printed with perfect distinctness at the other, for perma
nent preservation, at the rate of twenty-five words a minute. Like
many a kindred work of genius, it was in nothing more wonderful
than in its simplicity. First, he caused a continuous ribbon or
strip of paper to move under a pencil by clock-work, that could be
wound up. The paper moved horizontally. The pencil moved only
up and down; when resting on the paper it made a mark — if for an
instant only, a dot ; if for a longer time, a line. When lifted from
the paper it left a blank. Here were three elements — dots, lines,
and spaces — which, interwoven with intervals of time, could either-
of them be repeated, or they could be combined variously with each
other to produce groups that should stand for letters.

The grandeur of this wonderful alphabet of dots, lines, and
spaces, has not been fully appreciated. It has been translated from
one sense to another. In the Morse telegraph it may be used, and
is used, by the sight, the touch, the taste, the hearing, and the
sense of feeling.1

Bain succeeded in using the current of electricity without an
electro-magnet, but he had to borrow Morse's alphabet. Thomp
son's reflecting galvanometer, used by the Atlantic cable, although
a visual semaphore, employs the Morse alphabet.

Sir William Thompson has recently succeeded in converting his
wonderfully sensitive apparatus into a recording telegraph, with the
Morse alphabet.

We are no longer surprised when we find that Steinheil, at
the head of German telegraphy, advised the abandonment of his
own most ingenious and elaborate apparatus, and the adoption of
the Morse system and its alphabet. Nor do we wonder at its gen
eral adoption throughout the world.

All concede the conception of the written and recorded alpha
bet and the mode of printing to Morse on board the Sully. This
conception presupposes the use of the electrical current, the employ-

! The taste is occasionally taken advantage of where accidents occur on the
line of railroads and telegraphs, where a skillful operator happens to be present.
He cuts the wire, establishes metallic communication with the earth, and signals by
uniting and separating the end of the severed wire near the station, with the metal
lic conductor leading to the earth. He receives the message in answer by placing
his tongue between the two metallic points, receiving the shocks and observing the
intervals between them, which correspond with those produced by the key at the
station.

INDEBTEDNESS TO OTHERS. 283

ment of the alternate activity and repose of the current, and an
apparatus for breaking and closing the circuit at determined inter
vals.

THE NEED OF AN INVENTOR.

The indebtedness of Professor Morse, as an inventor, to others
may be regarded as of two kinds. There were the results of scien
tific research and discovery made by men who had gone before him,
and with which he was, in general terms, familiar. Then there was
the cooperation of assistants whom he took into his confidence and
compensated for their services.

He completed the plan of his alphabet, his mode of writing
and printing, and committed them to paper, on board the Sully, in
1832, and exhibited a working model of his conception in action in
1835 ; and a model, but not in action, of the relay to various per
sons in 1835 and 1836. His alphabet, his new mode of writing and
printing, were clear-cut, realized conceptions ; but to perfect the
apparatus involved resources which he had not. There were no
shops at that time to which he might go for the ready purchase of
electro-magnets, batteries, insulated wires, etc. A blacksmith must
be employed to bend an iron rod to the form of a horseshoe, and
the wire must be wound by hand. Nor were there at hand facilities
for repairs, or professors accomplished and ready to advise in the
science scarcely yet developed enough to meet the wants of the in
ventor. There was not a constant battery. There was, indeed, the
battery of many pairs (Cruikshank's), and Sturgeon had produced
his electro-magnet in 1825. But the new art required an inventor.

The substitution by Henry of the concentric multiplier, in
place of the loose, oblique coil of Sturgeon, reduced the strength
of the battery necessarily required ; and his employment of a bat
tery of many pairs in place of a single pair having the same surface,
which projected the current through greater length of wire, and so
made possible the magnetizing of iron at a distance, revealed the
direction in which development was to take place. This disclosed
a principle on which the registering apparatus could be worked at
a distance. But still there was needed an inventor.

Not one of all the brilliant scientific men who have attached
their names to the history of electro-magnetism had brought the
means to produce the practical registering telegraph. Some of
them had ascended the tower that looked out on the field of con
quest. Some of them brought keener vision than others. Some of

284 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

them. stood higher than others. But the genius of invention had
not recognized them. There was needed an inventor. Now, what
sort of a want is this ?

There was required a rare combination of qualities and condi
tions. There must be ingenuity in the adaptation of available
means to desired ends ; there must be the genius to see through
non-essentials to the fundamental principle on which success de
pends ; there must be a kind of skill in manipulation ; great pa
tience and pertinacity; a certain measure of culture; and the invent
or of a recording telegraph must be capable of being inspired by
the grandeur of the thought of writing, figuratively speaking, with
a pen a thousand miles long — with the thought of a postal system
without the element of time. Moreover, the person who is to be
the inventor must be free from the exactions of well-compensated,
every-day absorbing duties — perhaps he must have had the final
baptism of poverty.

Now, the inventor of the registering telegraph did not rise
from the perusal of any brilliant paper ; he happened to be at
leisure on shipboard, ready to contribute and share in the after-
dinner conversation of a ship's cabin, when the occasion arose.

Morse's electro-magnetic telegraph was mainly an invention
employing power and agencies, through mechanical devices, to
produce a given end. It involved the combination of the results
of the labors of others with a succession of special contrivances and
some discoveries of the inventor himself. There was an ideal whole
almost at the outset, but involving great thought and labor and
patience and invention to produce an art harmonious in its organi
zation and action.

CHAPTEK YIII.
1832-1838.

AKEIVAL IN NEW YOEK — THE BROTHERS' TESTIMONY — MOULD AND TYPE
THE FIEST THINGS MADE FOE THE TELEGEAPH — CASTINGS PEESEEVED —

STETJGGLES OF THE INVENTOE — POVEETY AND DISTEESS HIS BEOTHEE8'

SYMPATHY AND AID MAKING THE TELEGEAPHIC INSTEUMEXT AT THE

LATHE FAITH IN GOD AND HIMSELF EEJECTED AS ONE OF THE

PAINTEES OF A PICTUEE FOE THE CAPITOL — AETISTS' SYMPATHY —
ELECTED PEOFESSOE IN UNIVERSITY OF NEW YOEK — BOOMS IN BUILDING
—APPARATUS — COOKS HIS OWN FOOD IN HIS EOOM — ANNOUNCEMENT
OF HIS INVENTION — FEENCH IDEA OF TELEGEAPH — PEOFESSOE GALE'S
STATEMENT — DANIEL HUNTINGTON — HAMILTON FISH — EEV. ME. 8EELYE —
COMMODOEE STAEBUCK EOBEET G. EANKIN EEV. DE. H. B. TAPPAN

ALFEED VAIL BECOMES A PAETNEE — LETTEE TO SECEETAEY OF TEEAS-
UEY — SECEETAEY'S EEPOET TO CONGEESS — PEOFESSOE GALE A PAETNEE
THE INSTEUMENT AT SPEEDWELL THEEE MILES OF WIEE EXPERI
MENTS — EXHIBITION IN NEW YOEK — TEN MILES OF WIEE — FIEST DIS
PATCH PEESEEVED EXHIBITED TO THE FEANKLIN INSTITUTE EEPOET —

THE INSTEUMENT IN WASHINGTON EXHIBITED TO THE PEESIDENT AND

CABINET — HON. F. O. J. SMITH — PEOFESSOE MOESE's LETTEES TO ME.

SMITH EEPOET OF COMMITTEE OF COMMEECE — PAETNEESHIP WITH MR.

SMITH LETTERS TO VAIL PREPARATIONS FOR A JOURNEY TO EUROPE.

THE Sully reached the wharf at the foot of Rector Street,
New York, November 15, 1832. The two brothers of
Mr. Morse, Sidney E. and Richard C. Morse, were there to meet
and welcome him on his arrival. His brother Richard says :

" Hardly had the usual greetings passed between us three broth
ers, and while on our way to my house, before he informed us that
he had made, during his voyage, an important invention, which
had occupied almost all his attention on shipboard — one that
would astonish the world, and of the success of which he was per-

236 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

fectly sanguine ; that this invention was a means of communicating
intelligence by electricity, so that a message could be written down
in a permanent manner, by characters, at a distance from the
writer. He took from his pocket and showed from his sketch-book,
in which he had drawn them, the kind of characters he proposed to
use. These characters were dots and spaces, representing the ten
digits or numerals ; and in the book were sketched other parts of
his electro-magnetic machinery and apparatus, actually drawn out
in his sketch-book."

His brother Sidney says :

" He was full of the subject of the Telegraph during the walk
from the ship, and for some days afterward could scarcely speak
about any thing else. He expressed himself anxious to make appa
ratus and try experiments, for which he had had no materials or facili
ties on shipboard. In the course of a few days after his arrival he
made a kind of cogged or saw-toothed type, the object of which, I
understood, was to regulate the interruptions of the electric current,
so as to enable him to make dots, and regulate the length of marks
or spaces on the paper upon which the information transmitted by
his telegraph was to be recorded. He proposed at that time a
single circuit of wire, and only a single circuit, and letters, words,
and phrases, were to be indicated by numerals, and these numerals
were to be indicated by dots and other marks and spaces on paper.
It seemed to me that, as wire was cheap, it would be better to
have twenty-four wires, each wire representing a letter of the alpha
bet, but my brother always insisted upon the superior advantages
of his single circuit."

Without delay Mr. Morse proceeded to construct the instru
ment which was to test the practicability of his invention. He
was now an inmate of his brother Richard's house, and there he
resided several months. Mrs. Morse states that he was, imme
diately after liis arrival, engaged in melting lead and casting it
into moulds, making forms which, he called type. She says —
and her memory was doubtless sharpened by the unlucky acci
dent she mentions — that " lie melted the lead, which he used,
over the fire in the grate of my front parlor, and, in his oper
ation of casting the type, lie spilled some of the heated metal
upon the drugget, or loose carpeting before the fireplace, and
upon a flag-bottomed chair, upon which his mould was placed."

FORLORN SITUATION. 287

This was the first step that Mr. Morse took in the actual con
struction of his electro-telegraphic instrument. Some of the
first forms or type thus made by casting melted lead into a
mould prepared for receiving them, he presented to the writer
of this memoir,, who deposited them with the New York His
torical Society, to be preserved in the archives of that insti
tution.

From this hour began a struggle that lasted twelve years,
more severe, heroic, and triumphant, than the annals of any
other invention furnish for the warning and encouragement
of genius. With his mind absorbed in this one idea of a
recording telegraph, and wholly dependent upon his profession
as an artist, it was impossible to pursue his art with the
enthusiasm and industry essential to success. Nor would his
invention have been perfected while he continued his devotion
to his profession as an artist. His situation was forlorn in
the extreme. The father of three little children, now mother
less, his pecuniary means exhausted by his residence in Europe,
unable to pursue his art without sacrificing his invention,
he was at his wits' ends. He had visions of usefulness, by the
invention of a Telegraph that should bring the ends of the earth
into instant intercourse. Thoughts of fame came to him by day
and night, and a lawful ambition was kindled. He was poor,
and knew that wealth, as well as usefulness and fame, was with
in his reach. He had long received assistance from his father
and brothers, when his profession did not supply the needed
means of support for himself and family, but it seemed like
robbery to take the money of others to expend upon experi
ments, the success of which he could not expect them to believe
in until he could give practical evidence that the instrument
could do the work proposed. It was the old story repeated,
and to be repeated, of genius contending with poverty. He
knew what rapid progress was now made in science and art ;
the idea which he had started might spread like electricity itself,
far and wide; the danger was great that some one else, with
more time and means, would seize the thought, reduce it to
practice, and present it to the world, while he was brooding
over it in melancholy indecision and helplessness. His letters
to friends in former years very frequently indicated a tendency

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

to despondency. He was now sinking very low. The appre
hension that he might not be able to go on with his work filled
him at times with anguish. His brothers comforted, encouraged,
and cheered him. In the house of his brother Richard he
found a home, and the tender care that he required. Sidney,
the other brother, lent him the resources of a powerful intellect.
With them it was his habit to consult with the greatest free
dom, telling them all the difficulties he encountered, and the
steps that he must mount to reach the height of his great con
ception.

Just before he left Europe to return home, he had written
to his brothers, and these were his sad words : " I have fre
quently felt melancholy in thinking of my prospects for en
couragement when I return, and your letter found me in one of
those moments. You cannot, therefore, conceive with what
feelings I read your offer of a room in your new house. Give me
a resting-place, and I will yet move the country in favor of the
arts. I return with some hopes, but many fears. Will my
country employ me on works which may do it honor ? I want
a commission from Government to execute two pictures from
the life of Columbus, and I want eight thousand dollars for
each, and on these two I will stake my reputation as an artist."

Two or three years were passed in this melancholy mood,
his profession as an artist taking him from place to place, as he
had commissions that required him to reside for a time here
and there. Small opportunity was allowed him to pursue his
vision of the Telegraph. " During this time," he says, " I never
lost faith in the practicability of the invention, nor abandoned
the intention of testing it as soon as I could command the
means."

On the corner of Nassau and Beekman Streets his brothers
afterward erected a building in which were the offices of the
newspaper of which they were the editors and proprietors.
In the fifth story of this building a room was assigned to
him, which for a long time was his study, studio, bedchamber,
parlor, kitchen, drawing-room, and workshop. On one side
of the room stood the little cot on which he slept, when sleep
was kind enough to visit him, in the brief hours which he
allowed himself for repose. On the other side of the room, by

MOESE MAKING HIS OWN INSTKUMENT.

HIS MANUAL LABOR. 289

the window, stood his lathe, with which he, his own mechani
cian and workman, as well as inventor, turned the brass appa
ratus necessary for him to use in the construction of his instru
ment. He had, with his own hands, first whittled the models ;
then with the models he made the moulds and the castings. In
the lathe, with the graver's tool, he gave them polish and finish.
Into this room were brought to him, from day to day, crackers
and the simplest food, which, with tea, prepared by himself,
sustained his life, w^hile he toiled incessantly to give form and
being to the idea that possessed him.

To mingle with the world in the pursuit of his favorite art,
or to enjoy the pleasures of social life, of which no man was
more fond, would divert his mind from the work in which he
was absorbed, while patiently and believingly he hoped to reach
the grand result. He had faith in God, and strong confidence
in his own ability eventually to make the instrument practically
successful. He knew what he had done before. Nothing ap
peared to him wanting except the pecuniary means to sustain
him to the hour of accomplishment. If he should die before it
was done, his conception would perish with him. Stimulated
by these anticipations and apprehensions, he studied the strictest
economy in food and dress, dependent now almost exclusively
upon his brothers for the scanty supply which he was willing to
receive while engaged in a work which to 'all others seemed
visionary.

In the midst of this conflict, the Government was offering to
American artists, to be selected by a committee of Congress,
commissions to paint pictures for the panels in the Rotunda of
the Capitol. Morse was anxious, as we have already seen, to be
employed upon one or more of them. The artists of the country
urged his selection. He was the President of the National
Academy of Design, and there was an eminent fitness in calling
him to this national work. No artist in the United States, ex
cept Allston, his teacher and friend, had so high and so wide a
reputation as Morse, and Allston urged the appointment of
Morse, declining to take one of the commissions that was offered
to himself. John Quincy Adams, ex-President of the United
States, and now a member of the House of Representatives,
and on the committee to whom this subject was referred, submit-
19

290 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

ted a resolution in the House that foreign artists be allowed to
compete for these commissions, and in support of his resolution
alleged that there were no American artists competent to exe
cute the paintings. This allegation gave great and just offence
to the artists and the public. A severe and masterly reply to
the remarks of Mr. Adams appeared in the New York Evening
Post. This reply was written by James Fenimore Cooper, but it
was attributed to Mr. Morse, whose pen was well known to be as
skillful as his pencil. So far from being its author, Mr. Morse
did not know that Mr. Adams had made the offensive remarks
until Mr. Cooper came and read to him the reply in the Post.
But it was generally understood that Mr. Morse was regarded by
Mr. Adams as the author, and that in consequence of that belief
the name of Mr. Morse was rejected by the committee. He
never recovered from the effects of that blow. Forty years af
terward he could not speak of it without emotion. He had
consecrated the previous years of his life to preparation for such
a work. His brethren of the profession had accorded to him
the highest position in their guild. His ambition had fastened
upon this as the fitting opportunity to place before his country
men, in the Capitol, the greatest achievement of his genius and
skill. His teacher and friend, Washington Allston, wrote to him
these sympathetic lines :

" I have learned the disposition of the c pictures.' I had hoped
to find your name among the commissioned artists; but I was
grieved to find that all my efforts in your behalf have proved fruit
less. I know what your disappointment must have been at this re
sult, and most sincerely do I sympathize with you. That my efforts
were both sincere and conscientious I hope will be some consola
tion to you. But let not this disappointment cast you down, my
friend. You have it still in your power to let the world know what
you can do. Dismiss it, then, from your mind, and determine to
paint all the better for it. God bless you !

" Your affectionate friend,

"WASHINGTON ALLSTON."

But it was well for him, and his country, and the world, that
the artist was disappointed : Morse the painter became Morse
the inventor. He had indeed been for some years plodding on
with his invention, earning his daily bread with his brush, and

SYMPATHY OF ARTISTS. 291

by giving lessons in art, but never abandoning the idea that the
Telegraph was yet to be accomplished. His brother artists were
grieved at the rejection of their President by the Government,
and they made an expression of their chagrin and sympathy by
such a- testimonial as is doubtless without a parallel in the history
of the arts. General Cummings, in his " Annals of the Acad
emy," gives the facts in these words :

" The writer called a meeting of artists at his house, March 17th
— suggested and arranged an association for the purpose of raising
funds, in fifty-dollar shares, for procuring Morse to paint an histori
cal picture — the title, ' A Joint-stock Association of Artists for pro
curing Morse to paint an Historical Picture.' Certificates were im
mediately prepared and subscribers solicited. In a few days the
writer had the satisfaction of obtaining such to the amount of five
hundred dollars. John L. Morton, by his exertions, added another five
hundred. The efforts of others in a short time increased that amount
to two thousand dollars. At that point a great addition was at once
made to the fund. A gentleman well known, but who declined to
have his name made public, subscribed one thousand — thus making
a total of three thousand dollars ; and Mr. , of Brooklyn, gen
erously offered to contribute, free of charge, canvas, and all material
required in the execution of the work. Thus armed, the writer and
John L. Morton waited on Morse, and communicated the result — the
first knowledge he had of the undertaking. The effect was electrical
— it aroused him from his depression, and he exclaimed, 'that
never had he read or known of such an act of professional generos
ity;' and that he was fully determined to paint the picture — his
favorite subject, ' The Signing of the First Compact on board the
Mayflower ' — not of small size, as requested, but of the size of the
panels in the Rotunda. That was immediately assented to by the
committee, thinking it possible that one or the other of the pic
tures so ordered might fail in execution — in which case it would
afford favorable inducements to its substitution, and of course much
to Mr. Morse's profit — as the artists from the first never contem
plated taking possession of the picture so executed ; it was to remain
with Mr. Morse, and for his use and benefit. Two or three install
ments were collected and paid him, when his departure for Europe,
in the furtherance of his Telegraph — the success of which has ' won
him world-renowned reputation ' — caused a suspension of the paint
ing, and delay was requested and acceded to by the subscribers."

2Q2 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

When Mr. Morse determined to go abroad, lie wrote to Mr.
Cummings as follows :

" Circumstances relating to the Telegraph, invented by me in
1832, will require my attention for an indefinite time, and I am ,
about to visit Europe, principally in reference to matters in connec
tion with this invention. At the same time, indeed, I have in view
some studies connected with the picture which the association have
commissioned me to paint for them. Yet, I ought not to conceal
from the gentlemen who have so generously formed the association,
that circumstances may arise, in relation to the Telegraph, which
may make it a paramount duty, to myself and my country, to sus
pend for a season the commission with which they have honored
me."

Finding that he could not execute the painting, and wishing
to relieve himself of the position in which he then stood, Mr.
Morse returned to the stockholders the amount in full, with
interest, and canceled the obligation.

In the year 1835 Mr. Morse was appointed Professor of the
Literature of the Arts of Design in the New York City Uni
versity. Before the apartments were completly finished he re
moved from Greenwich Lane to the third floor, front rooms,
in the north wing of the University building, looking out upon
Washington Square.

" There," he says, " I immediately commenced, with very limited
means, to experiment upon my invention.1 My first instrument was
made up of an old picture or canvas frame fastened to a table ; the
wheels of an old wooden clock, moved by a weight to carry the
paper forward ; three wooden drums, upon one of which the paper
was wound and passed over the other two ; a wooden pendulum
suspended to the top piece of the picture or stretching frame, and
vibrating across the paper as it passes over the centre wooden drum ;
a pencil at the lower end of the pendulum, in contact with the paper ;
an electro-magnet fastened to a shelf across the picture or stretching-
frame, opposite to an armature made fast to the pendulum ; a type
rule and type for breaking the circuit, resting on an endless band,
composed of carpet-binding, which passed over two wooden rollers,
moved by a wooden crank, and carried forward by points projecting

• 1 See appendix A for illustrated history of the invention.

HIS FIRST APPARATUS. 293

from the bottom of the rule downward into the carpet- binding ; a
lever, with a small weight on the upper side, and a tooth projecting
downward at one end, operated on by the type, and a metallic fork
also projecting downward over two mercury-cups, and a short cir
cuit of wire, embracing the helices of the electro-magnet connected
with the positive and negative poles of the battery and terminating
in the mercury-cups. When the instrument was at rest the circuit
was broken at the mercury-cups ; as soon as the first type in the
type-rule (put in motion by turning the wooden crank) came in con
tact with the tooth on the lever, it raised that end of the lever and
depressed the other, bringing the prongs of the fork down into the
mercury, thus closing the circuit ; the current passing through the
helices of the electro-magnet caused the pendulum to move and the
pencil to "make an oblique mark upon the paper, which, in the
mean time, had been put in motion over the wooden drum. The
tooth in the lever falling into the first two cogs of the types, the cir
cuit was broken when the pendulum returned to its former position,
the pencil making another mark as it returned across the paper.
Thus, as the lever was alternately raised and depressed by the points
of the type, the pencil passed to and fro across the slip of paper
passing under it, making a mark resembling a succession of Vs.
The spaces between the types caused the pencil to mark horizontal
lines, long or short, in proportion to the length of the spaces.
With this apparatus, rude as it was, and completed before the first
of the year 1836, 1 was enabled to and did mark down telegraphic in
telligible signs, and to make and did make* distinguishable sounds for
telegraphing; and, having arrived at that point, I exhibited it to
some of my friends early in that year, and among others to Professor
Leonard D. Gale, who was a college professor in the university.1
1 also experimented with the chemical power of the electric current
in 1836, and succeeded in marking my telegraphic signs upon paper
dipped in turmeric and a solution of the sulphate of soda (as well as
other salts), by passing the current through it. I was soon satisfied,^
however, that the electro-magnetic power was more available for
telegraphic purposes and possessed many advantages over any other,
and I turned my thoughts in that direction. Early in 1836 T pro
cured forty feet of wire, and putting it in the circuit I found that my
battery of one cup was not sufficient to work my instrument. This
result suggested to me the probability that the magnetism to be ob
tained from the electric current would diminish in proportion as the

1 See page 299.

294 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

circuit was lengthened, so as to be insufficient for any practical pur
poses at great distances ; and to remove that probable obstacle to
my success I conceived the idea of combining two or more circuits
together in the manner described in my first patent, each with an
independent battery, making uss of the magnetism of the current on
the first to close and break the second; the second, the third, and
so on. This contrivance was fully set forth in my patents. My
chief concern, therefore, on my subsequent patents was to ascertain
to what distance from the battery sufficient magnetism could be ob
tained to vibrate a piece of metal, knowing that, if I could obtain
the least motion at the distance of eight or ten miles, the ultimate
object was within my grasp. A practical mode of communicating
the impulse of one circuit to another, such as that described in my
patent of 1840, was matured as early as the spring of 1837, and ex
hibited then to Professor Gale, my confidential friend.

" Up to the autumn of 1837 my telegraphic apparatus existed in
so rude a form that I felt a reluctance to have it seen. My means
were very limited — so limited as to preclude the possibility of con
structing an apparatus of such mechanical finish as to warrant my
success in venturing upon its public exhibition. I had no wish to
expose to ridicule the representative of so many hours of laborious
thought. Prior to the summer of 1837, at which time Mr. Alfred
Vail's attention became attracted to my Telegraph, I depended upon
my pencil for subsistence. Indeed, so straitened were my circum
stances that, in order to save time to carry out my invention and to
economize my scanty means, I had for many months lodged and
eaten in my studio, procuring my food in small quantities from some
grocery, and preparing it myself. To conceal from my friends the
stinted manner in which I lived, I was in the habit of bringing my
food to my room in the evenings, and this was my mode of life for
many years."

In the year 1853, Professor Morse alluded to these days of
trial in some remarks at a meeting of the Association of the
Alumni of the University of ~New York City :

"Yesternight, on once more entering your chapel, I saw the
same marble staircase and marble floors I once so often trod, and so
often with a heart and head overburdened with almost crushing
anxieties. Separated from the chapel by but a thin partition was
that room I occupied, now your Philomathean Hall, whose wTalls —
had thoughts and mental struggles, with the alternations of joys

INVENTION OF THE RELAY. 295

and sorrows, the power of being daguerreotyped upon them —
would show a thickly-studded gallery of evidence that there the
Briarean infant was born who has stretched forth his arms with the
intent to encircle the world. Yes, that room of the University was
the birthplace of the Recording Telegraph. Attempts, indeed,
have been made to assign to it other parentage, and to its birth
place other localities. Personally, I have very little anxiety on this
point, except that the truth should not suffer ; for I have a con
sciousness which neither sophistry nor ignorance can shake, that
that room is the place of its birth, and a confidence, too, that its
cradle is in hands that will sustain its rightful claim."

" In 1835," says Professor Horsford, " Morse made his discovery
of the relay ) the most brilliant of all the achievements to which his
name must be forever attached. It was the discovery of a means by
which the current, which through distance from its source had be
come feeble, could be reenforced or renewed. This discovery, ac
cording to the different objects for which it is employed, is vari
ously known as the registering magnet, the local circuit, the margi
nal circuit, the repeater, etc. It made transmission from one point
on a main line through indefinitely great distances, and through an
indefinite number of branch lines, and to an indefinite number 01"
way-stations, and registration at all, possible and practicable, from
a single act of a single operator."

Professor Morse also exhibited to Professor Horsford one of
the instruments which illustrated his inventive genius. It re
sembled, in external appearance, a small melodeon, having a key
board, on which were the letters, the figures, periods, commas, etc.
These keys were levers. The ends of the levers, distant from the
seat of the operator, were in connection with brass circular disks,
upon the rims of which were prominences and depressions of une
qual length, so arranged that the prominences would close and the
depressions open the magnetic circuit, and thus magnetize and de
magnetize a bar of soft iron. When magnetized, the bar of iron
drew to itself one end of a lever, having an iron armature, to the
other end of which a pencil or pen was attached, the point of which,
by this action of the magnet, was pressed against a moving ribbon
of paper ; when the bar was demagnetized, the lever was restored
to its original position by a spring, and the pencil lifted from the
paper. It is easy to see that an arrangement of prominences and
depressions, or conductors and non-conductors, on the brass circles
might be so contrived that each key should produce its own partic-

LITE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

tilar set of lines, dots, and spaces. This was the first practical
Registering Telegraph. Its invention dates October, 1832, on the
Sully. Its first testing was made in 1835.

The piano key-board of Morse, and its complex devices for in
terrupting and closing the circuit, gave place, as the result of prac
tical experiment, before the issue of the patent, to the very simple
device of the single key, with which we are all familiar. The pencil
and pen gave place to a stylus— a simple, hard point, resting upon
a ribbon of paper, moving at a uniform rate, immediately over a
groove. His plan, from the outset, contemplated a single current
and circuit. After the discovery of Steinheil, that the earth might
be used for a part of the circuit, Morse adopted the arrangement of
a single line of wire between the stations.

"In 1836, and the early part of 1837," Professor Morse says,
" I directed my experiments mainly to modifications of the marking
apparatus, contrivances for using fountain-pens, marking with a
hard point through pentagraphic or blackened paper, at one time
on a revolving disk, spirally from the centre, at another on a cylin
der, by which means a large, ordinary sheet of paper might be so
written upon that it could be read as a commonplace-book, and
bound for reference in volumes, and devising modes of marking
upon chemically-prepared paper. As my means and the duties of
my profession would admit, the spring and autumn of 1837 were
employed in improving the instrument, varying the modes of writ
ing, experimenting with plumbago and various kinds of ink or col
oring-matter, substituting a pen for a pencil, and devising a mode
of writing on a whole sheet of paper instead of on a strip of rib
bon ; and, in the latter part of August, or the beginning of Sep
tember of that year, the instrument was shown in the cabinet of
the University to numerous visitors, operating through a circuit of
seventeen hundred feet of wire running back and forth in that
room.

" At this date (early in 1837) the public attention had been
drawn to the subject of telegraphs by rather pompous announce
ments of marvelous improvements by two French gentlemen of the
names of Gonon and Servell, improvements so ambiguously de
scribed and mystified, that I was deceived by them into the belief
that their invention must be an electric telegraph.

" NEWLY-INVENTED TELEGRAPH. — We take the following from
a Washington letter in, the Baltimore Patriot: cMr. Gonon and
his associate, Mr. Serve!!, have, after many years' application to the

FIRST PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT. £97

subject, invented an important system of telegraphs, which casts
into the shade every thing of the same kind that has yet been at
tempted. By their admirable plan, they can communicate every
kind of information, word by word, and punctuate the same, with
out using more signals than words, and with as much rapidity as a
person can write or even speak ! They have received the most
flattering encouragement from those literary and scientific gentle
men to whom they have explained the system, and not a doubt is
entertained that it will accomplish the purposes of the inventors,
and realize all that has been anticipated for it. Mr. Gonon assures
me that he will be able to communicate a dispatch of one hundred
words from New York to New Orleans in half an hour ! — and
those who are thoroughly acquainted with the system confirm his
promises. How elementary does every other system appear, in
comparison to that which can accomplish such an object ! The
imagination is overpowered in contemplating the consequences of
such an achievement of human ingenuity. Distance is annihilated.
Thousands of miles no longer divide us. "We know on the instant,
as it were, the actions, the wishes, the determinations of our fellow-
beings of other States. Fortunate it is that we live in an age for
whose intellectual progress nothing is too ripe.'

"My brother, the editor of the New York Observer, copied the
above announcement into his paper, and, in a few words, stated the
fact of the existence of my invention, and showed how, in one
mode, electricity might be made to answer the purpose of tele
graphic communication — a mode of his own — not attempting to de
scribe 'mine; and the following was the first public mention of the
Morse Telegraph :

" i We know nothing of the telegraph of Messrs. Gonon arid
Servell, except what is related in the above paragraph ; but we do
know that a gentleman of our acquaintance, several years since,
suggested that intelligence might be communicated almost in
stantaneously, hundreds if not thousands of miles, by means of
very fine wires, properly coated to protect them from moisture, and
extending between places thus widely separated. It is well known
that the electric fluid occupies no perceptible time in passing many
miles on a wire, and, if it is possible by connecting one end of the
wire with an electrical or galvanic battery to produce any sensible
effect whatever at the other, it is obvious that, if there are
twenty-four wires, each representing a letter of the alphabet,
they may be connected with the battery successively, in any
order, and, if so connected in the order of the letters of any word
or sentence, that word or sentence could be read or written by a
person standing at the other end of the wires. All the letters
of a paragraph in a newspaper could thus be touched successively
by a man in Philadelphia, and the contents, verbatim et literatim^
be conveyed to New York as fast as a compositor could set up the

298 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

type ! It is not impossible that the time may be near when speeches
in Congress, taken down by reporters, and conveyed by these
" electrfc telegraphs " to New York or New Orleans, may be in type,
printed, circulated, and read within a few hours after the voice of
the speaker has ceased at Washington. The wires necessary for a
distance of a hundred miles need not weigh many pounds, and if in
closed in an India-rubber tube, and supported on high poles- erected
along the route, at intervals of four or five hundred feet, could be
extended through an immense distance at a trifling expense. The
feasibility of the project depends entirely upon the practicability
of producing any sensible effect at one end of a long wire, by con
necting the other end with an electrical or galvanic battery.'

" The improvements of the French gentlemen, promising such
miraculous results, proved, on inquiry, to be only some modification
of the now almost universally-exploded aerial telegraph, improve
ments upon Chappe's semaphore, and having no relation to the
Electric Telegraphs of modern days."

Whatever it was, the plan of the Frenchmen commanded
the attention of Congress ; a bill was introduced to refund to its
projectors the money they had expended in experiments, but it
has passed out of sight, and the " impossible " mode of Professor
Morse connects all quarters of the globe.

The recollections of those who were witnesses of Professor
Morse's experiments, or of their results, form the most valuable
portion of this history, and, though necessarily repetitious, are
here recorded.

Professor L. D. Gale gives the minutest account of the birth of
the invention. He says : " I was a colleague professor in the Uni
versity of the City of New York, in January, 1836, with Professor
Morse, who had rooms in the University building. During the
month of January he invited me into his private room in the Uni
versity, where I saw for the first time certain apparatus consti
tuting his electro-magnetic telegraph. The invention at that time
consisted of the following pieces of apparatus :

" First. A train of clock-wheels, being part of a common wooden
clock, adapted to regulate the motion of a strip of paper, or ribbon
formed of strips of paper pasted together, end to end, about one and
a half inch wide.

" Second. Three cylinders or drums of wood, arranged as in the
accompanying drawings of the apparatus, which drawings represent
the apparatus essentially as then constructed, to wit : A, B, C, are

PROFESSOR GALE'S ACCOUNT.

299

the cylinders ; A is the paper cylinder from which the paper is un
rolled, passing over cylinder B to cylinder C, which is connected
with and moved by the clock machinery of D, which is the wooden

(\DfNEl

clock of which I spoke, and which was moved by the weight E. A
wooden pendulum, F, of the shape delineated, was suspended over
the centre of cylinder, B having its pivot at/. This pendulum had

300 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

its motion at right angles or across the paper, when the paper was
in motion. In the lower part of the pendulum, through two cross-
pieces, was fixed a pencil-case, in which a pencil moved easily up
and' down, and was kept in constant contact with the paper by a
light weight, g. At h was a projecting shelf from the frame XX,
upon which shelf was an electro-magnet fixed, while the armature to
be attracted by the said magnet was fixed upon the pendulum. The
wires or conductors from the helices of the magnet passed, one to
one pole of a single-pair galvanic battery, I, while the other wire
passed to a cup of mercury, &, at the portrule. The other pole of
the battery was connected by a wire to the other cup of mercury, I.

" Third. The portrule, represented below the fable. This portrule
was a rude frame, containing two cylinders, LL, about two inches
diameter and two inches long; one of them was turned by a crank,
and they were connected by a band of green-worsted binding about
one and a half inch in diameter; M was the rule or composing-
stick ; it was made by two small thin rules about two feet long, side
by side, but separated about the eighth of an inch from each other,
forming a sort of trough in which were set up the type hereafter to
be described, the cogs of which type are seen projecting on the top
of the rule, M. At N two standards were raised from the sides of
the long frame of the portrule and united at the top, in which stand
ards was suspended a lever, OO. At one end of this lever was a
fork of copper wire, to be plunged, when the lever was depressed,
into the two cups of mercury, k and I; the other end of the lever
bore a weight to keep that end down, and beneath the weight was a
tooth like those upon the keys of a hand-organ.

"Fourth. There was a series of pieces of thin*type-metal, which
Professor Morse called type, and which he showed me also in draw
ings in a sketch-book, which drawings he informed me he had made
on board the ship. These are accurately represented in the sub
joined drawing. They consisted of eleven pieces, having from one
(1) to five (5) cogs each, except one, which was used as a space ; the
first five numbers consisted of cogs, from one to five respectively,
with a short space after ; the second five numbers consisted also of
cogs from one to five respectively, with a long space after, a space
double the length of the first.

The operation of the apparatus when used was this : Suppose
that the numbers 456, 320, and 4, were to be the numbers desired to
be sent, the type 4, 5, 6, were set up in the rule M ; after which a
space was put to separate the whole number from the next, and so

PROFESSOR GALE'S ACCOUNT. 301

on. The rule, M, was then placed on the band of the portrule, and
by turning the crank the rule was sent gradually forward ; the cogs
of the type operating the lever, O O, to break and close the circuit of
the battery, J. When the circuit was closed, the magnet, A, attracted
the pendulum, F, causing a movement of the pencil, g, of about a
fourth of an inch. The pencil being in contact with the paper, if
the paper moved in the direction of the arrow, or vice versa, a con
tinuous straight line was marked upon the paper, while the pendulum
was stationary either at one end or the other limit of its motion, but
when attracted by the magnet from one limit to the other, and sud
denly released by the cessation of the magnetic force, it marked a
V-shaped point, as in the ' example of imprinting ' in the drawing,
and the successive breakings and closings of the circuit by the cogs
of the type caused the points to be impressed or marked upon the
moving paper in the manner there shown. By reading the extremi
ties of the V-shaped point or points the figures intended were readily
recognized.

"During the year 1836, and beginning of 1837, the studies of
Professor Morse on his telegraph I found much interrupted by
his attention to his professional duties. I understood that want
of pecuniary means prevented him from procuring to be made
such mechanical improvements, and such substantial workmanship,
as would make the operation of his invention more exact. In
the months of March and April, 1837, the announcement of an
extraordinary telegraph on the visual plan (as it afterward proved
to be), the invention of two French gentlemen, of the names
of Gonon and Servell, was going the rounds of the papers. The
thought occurred to me, as well as to Professor Morse and some
others of his friends, that the invention of his electro-magnetic tele
graph had somehow become known, and was the origin of the new
telegraph thus conspicuously announced. This announcement at
once aroused Professor Morse to renewed exertions to bring the
new invention creditably before the public, and to consent to a
public announcement of the existence of his invention. From April
to September, 1837, Professor Morse and myself were engaged to
gether in the work of preparing magnets, winding wire, construct
ing batteries, etc., in the Uuniversity, for an experiment on a larger
but still very limited scale, in the little leisure that each had to
spare, and being at the same time much cramped for funds. The la
bors of Professor Morse at this period were mostly directed to modi
fications of his instruments for marking, contriving the best modes

302 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

of marking, varying the pencil, the pen, using plumbago, and ink, and
varying also the form of the paper, from a slip of paper to a sheet.
The latter part of August, 1837, the operation of the instruments
was shown to numerous visitors at the University. It was early a
question between Professor Morse and myself, where was the limit
of the magnetic power to move a lever. I expressed a doubt
whether a lever could be moved by this power at a distance of
twenty miles, and my settled conviction was that it could not
be done with sufficient force to mark characters on paper at one
hundred miles' distance. To this Professor Morse was accustomed
to reply, ' If I can succeed in working a magnet ten miles, I can
go round the globe? The chief anxiety, at this stage of the inven
tion, was to ascertain the utmost limits of distance at which Mr.
Morse could work or move a lever by magnetic power. He often
said to me, ' It matters not how delicate the movement may be, if
I can obtain it at all, it is all I want? Professor Morse often re
ferred to the number of stations which might be required, and which,
he observed, would add to the complication and expense. He al
ways expressed his confidence of success in propagating magnetic
power through any distance of electric conductors which circum
stances might render desirable. This plan was thus often explained
to me : ' Suppose,' said Professor Morse, ' that in experimenting on
twenty miles of wire we should find that the power of magnet
ism is so feeble that it will but move a lever with certainty a hair's
breadth ; that would be insufficient, it may be, to write or print, yet
it would be sufficient to close and break another or a second circuit
twenty miles farther, and this second circuit could be made, in the
same manner, to break and close a third circuit twenty miles farther ;
and so on around the globe.'

" This general statement of the means to be resorted to, now
embraced in what is called the receiving magnet (relays), to render
practical writing or printing by telegraph, through long distances,
was shown to me more in detail early in the spring of the year
1837.

" The apparatus was arranged on a plan substantially as indi
cated in the drawings. One (1) is a battery at one terminus of a
line of conductors representing twenty miles in length, from one pole
of which the conductor proceeds to the helix of an electro-magnet
at the other terminus (the helix forming part of the conductor) ;
thence it returns to the battery end, terminating in a mercury-cup, o.
From the contiguous mercury-cup, p, a wire proceeds to the other

EXHIBITION OF THE TELEGRAPH. 303

pole of the battery ; when the fork of the lever, c, unites the two
cups of mercury the circuit is complete, and the magnet, #, is charged,
and attracts the armature of the lever, d, which connects the circuit
of battery 2 in the same manner, which again operates in turn the

lever, e, twenty miles farther, and so on. This was the plan then
and there revealed and shown to me by Professor Morse, and which,
so far as I know, has constituted an essential part of his electro
magnetic telegraph from that date to the present time.

" On Saturday, the 2d day of September, 1837, Professor Dau-
beny, of the English Oxford University, being on a visit to this
county, was invited with a few friends to see the operation of the
telegragh, in its then rude form, in the cabinet of the New York
University, where it then had been put up with a circuit of 1,700
feet of copper wire, stretched back and forth in that long room.
Professor Daubeny, Professor Torrey, and Mr. Alfred Vail, were
present, among others. This exhibition of the telegraph, although
of very rude and imperfectly-constructed machinery, demonstrated
to all present the practicability of the invention, and it resulted in
enlisting the means, the skill, and the zeal of Mr. Alfred Vail, who,
early the next week, called at the rooms and had a more perfect
explanation from Professor Morse of the character of the invention.
The doubt to be dispelled in Mr. Vail's mind was whether the
power by magnetism could be propelled to such a distance as to be
practically effective. This doubt was dissipated in a few moments'
conversation with Professor Morse, and*I have ever been under the
full conviction that it was the means then disclosed by Professor
Morse to Mr. Vail, to wit, the plan of repeating the power of
magnetism at any distance required, that induced Mr. Alfred Vail,
and his brother, Mr. George Vail, at once to interest themselves in
the invention, and to furnish Professor Morse with the means,
material, and labor, for an experiment on a larger scale."

The writer of this memoir having had an intimate acquaint
ance of more than thirty years with Kobert G. Kankin, Esq.,
whose residence was formerly on Washington Square, on which

304 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

also stands the University, and knowing his scientific attain
ments and early acquaintance with Professor Morse's experi
ments, addressed to Mr. Kankin a letter of inquiry, to which he
sent the following reply :

"NEWBURGH, N. Y., April 25, 1873.

" Professor Morse was one of the purest and noblest men of any
age. I believe I was among the earliest outside of his family circle
to whom he communicated his design to encircle the globe with
wire. I was some years since called upon as a witness in the great
Louisville suit, but my testimony on that trial was made before a
commission from the court, and was confined to technical answers
(in the form of an affidavit) to written interrogations, and of course
I was restricted in my testimony from testifying to much I might
have said, and would have been pleased to say, and I rejoice in
the opportunity of giving my recollections. Some time in the fall
of 1835 I was passing along the easterly walk of Washington Pa
rade-ground, leading from Waverly Place to Fourth Street, when I
heard my name called. On turning round, I saw, over the* picket-
fence, an outstretched arm, from a person standing in the middle or
main entrance-door of the unfinished University building of New
York, and immediately recognized the professor, who beckoned me
toward him. On meeting and exchanging salutations— and you
know how genial his were — he took me by the arm, and said :

" * I wish you to go up into my sanctum and examine a piece of
mechanism, which, if you may not believe in, you, at least, will not
laugh at, as I fear some others will. I want you to give me your
frank opinion, as a friend, for I know your interest in and love of
the applied sciences.'

" On entering the sanctum in the third story of the finished part
cf the building, the first thing my eye fell upon was an instrument
not dissimilar in outward appearances to one of our modern
melodeons, with a sort of key-board, like a movable series of
wooden strips. Around the room were placed coils of wire, and
many tools and articles generally used for mechanical purposes, be
sides jars, apparently of chemicals, and implements usually asso
ciated with galvanic experiments. My first exclamation was :

4 Well, professor, what are you at now ? magnetism, elegtrici-
ty, music ' (for I supposed the latter machine was some musical in
strument) ?

" His reply was —

THE NATURAL AND MORAL. 305

" ' Well, now, let me do the talking, and you may ask questions
after I am through. You see those coils ? well, they contain a
continuous uninterrupted line of wire of ' (so many — I forget how
many) ' thousands of feet ' (one or more miles in length). ' You see
that battery there ? — this the positive pole, that the negative pole,
all connected with that key-board, and those keys are to connect
and interrupt the circuit, and in so doing produce the symbols of let
ters ; although this instrument must be simplified, and is not yet
what I want.'

"He made many explanations respecting the process of con
ductivity and continuity. A long silence on the part of each en
sued, which was at length broken by my exclamation —

" { Well, professor, you have a pretty play ! — theoretically true,
but practically useful only as a mantel ornament, or for a mistress
in the parlor to direct the maid in the cellar ! But, professor, cui
bono ? In imagination one can make a new earth, and improve all
the land communications of our old one ; but, my unfortunate prac
ticality stands in the way of my comprehension as yet.'

" We then had a long conversation on the subject of magnetism
and its modifications, and, if I do not recollect the very words which
clothed his thoughts, they were substantially as follows : He had
been long impressed with the belief that God had created the great
forces of Nature not only as manifestations of his own infinite
power, but as expressions of good-will to man, to do him good, and
that every one of God's great forces could yet be utilized for man's
welfare ; that modern science was constantly evolving from the
hitherto hidden secrets of Nature some new development promotive
of human welfare, and that at no distant day magnetism would do
more for the advancement of human sociology than any of the ma
terial forces now known ; that he would scarcely dare to compare
spiritual with material forces, yet that analogically magnetism would
do in the advancement of human welfare what the Spirit of God
would do in the moral renovation of man's nature ; that it would
educate and enlarge the forces of the world. He then went on to
say that he believed he had discovered a practical way of using
magnetism as a line or means of communication, and interchange
of thought in written language, upon every and all pursuit's and
subjects that engage the human mind, irrespective of distance and
time save that required for manipulation, and that it would ulti
mately become a daily instrumentality in domestic as well as pub
lic life. He said he had felt as if he was doing a great work for
20

306 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

God's glory as well as for man's welfare; that such had been his
long-cherished thought. His whole soul and heart appeared filled
with a glow of love and good-will, and his sensitive and impas
sioned nature seemed almost to transform him in my eyes into a
prophet.

" We gradually came back to the practicalities of the matter
before us, and after a while I exclaimed :

" ' But now, professor, how about rivers, and oceans, and deserts,
and bridges, and unpopulated regions, for you know there are a few
of such left on this globe of ours ? '

" He replied, substantially, that, if his discovery was founded on
truth, that truth would find a means of passing under, over, and
through all such obstacles.

"We had a prolonged discussion, my own skepticism intensified,
perhaps, by his earnestness, and then gradually flickering out like a
painter's bow, with the receding sun's rays. Theoretically, I ad
mitted his correctness; but doubts of its practicability had not yet
yielded to full belief. Yet there gradually loomed up before my
mind a vision, dim, it is true, yet outlined in some great future ;
a coming magnitude I could not fully comprehend ; a sort of mighty
handwriting on the surface -walls of this great globe of ours,
prophesying the commingling and unification of nations; of the
gospel, on some kind of heaven-spread wings, flitting to and fro
over the earth, and ignorant and uncivilized humanity brought into
subjection to our heaven-born Christianity.

"I had frequent and earnest interviews with the professor for
years after, and I need not add that I was a believer in c Morse's
Telegraph.' I recollect well the discussions we had in regard to
modes of transmission, in carrying the wires under or over the sur
face, crossing draw-bridges, and have vivid recollections of (sug
gested) lofty spars, like ships' masts, and he proposed crossing
Hudson River by wires from Storm King to the east shore ; and
earnest talk and cipherings on the tensile strength and form of
wires, or chains, of sundry self weight-bearing conductors. But
the world knows the skepticism that enshrouded even the national
wisdom in Congress, continued for years, and the almost heart and
soul rending trials the professor passed through, and when he at
length showed practically to the world 'what hath God wrought'
through him, and the many that endeavored to detract from his
well-earned fame. It will taJce generations yet to come to commen
surate their conditions with his inventions.

REV. DR. TAPPAN'S TESTIMONY. 307

" It is among the most delightful of my * recollections ' of the
Professor — and I have very often related them to friends — that I
scarce recollect a conversation on the great subject — the last at his
own house, not long prior to his death — that he did not in some
way suggest the thought of God's wondrous goodness in enduing
the insensate matter of earth with such an energizing material force
as magnetism, and permitting him to be an instrument of utilizing
it for the welfare of man. ' jSi Deus nobiscum, quis contra nos f ' '

This conversation with Mr. Rankin occurred before the in
ventor had his instrument in working order. His colleague,
Rev. Henry B. Tappan, D. D., LL. D., and subsequently Presi
dent of the University of Michigan, an eminent philosophical
Divine, having met Professor Morse in Berlin in the year 1868,
referred, in conversation, to the fact that he was one of the
early witnesses of the operation of the Telegraph. In reply to
a note from Professor Morse, Dr. Tappan wrote :

" The University was opened in the autumn of 1832. I was one
of the first professors elected. In the same year you returned from
Europe. Some time after your return, and when you yourself had
been elected a Professor, you related to me, in a free, familiar, and
extended conversation, how your mind had been occupied during
your last voyage with the idea of transmitting and recording words
through distance by means of an electro-magnetic arrangement.
The idea, you said, had haunted you, whether you lay in your berth
or walked the deck, and that you had, at length, arrived at a defi
nite conception of the required arrangement. I cannot recall all
the details of this explanation ; I well recollect that it contained
the germ of what you afterward so successfully accomplished.

"In 1835 you had advanced so far that you were prepared to
give, on a small scale, a practical demonstration of the possibility
of transmitting and recording words through distance, by means of
an electro-magnetic arrangement. I was one of the limited circle
whom you invited to witness the first experiments. In a long room
of the University you had wires extended from end to end where
the magnetic apparatus was arranged. It is not necessary for me
to describe particulars which have now become so familiar to every
one. The fact which I now recall with the liveliest interest, and
which I mentioned in conversation at Mr. Bancroft's as one of the
choicest recollections of my life, was that of the first transmission
and recording of a telegraphic dispatch. I suppose, of course, that

308 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

you had already made these experiments before the company ar
rived whom you had invited. But I may claim to have witnessed
the first transmission and recording of words by lightning ever
made public. All who were present were invited to write and
send off dispatches from one end of the room to be recorded at the
other. I recollect full well my delight at hearing the words which
I silently gave in at one end, accurately read off from the strip of
paper at the other. The fact was established that words — that
the thoughts, of course,, expressed by words, could be communicated
and recorded with lightning-speed from one place to another. It
was one of those startling facts which open to us immeasurable
consequences ; and justify the imagination in its pictures of the
future, and make our dreams but struggles to anticipate surpassing
realities.

" Permit me, also, to say that I most sincerely sympathized in
the triumph you had won ; and that to me it was a reflection full
of satisfaction that you, a friend of the philosophic dreamer and
poet Coleridge, and the early associate of Leslie and Allston, had,
while wandering among the forms of ideal beauty, found a most
stupendous practical fact ; thus repeating what men are so slow to
believe, and yet which so frequently appears, as in Michael Angelo,
Milton, and Fulton,, that he who pursues the Beautiful may also
think the True, and accomplish the Good. The arrangement which
you exhibited, on the above-mentioned occasion, as well as the mode
of receiving the dispatches, were substantially the same as that
which you now employ. I feel certain that you had then already
grasped the whole invention, however you may have since perfected
the details. I met you, afterward, when you were engaged in mak
ing a larger experiment by laying the wires underground between
Washington and Baltimore — an experiment whose failure led to a
most important result — that of putting into practice your early
mode of the elevation of the wires upon poles in the open air ; thus
escaping the disturbing influences of the earth, and achieving the
most economic and rapid execution of the work."

Daniel Huntington, one of the great artists of our country,
was at this time a pupil of Mr. Morse, and this is his testimony :

"I studied my profession with Professor Morse, and was his
pupil from the month of May, 1833, to the 1st of May, 1835, occu
pying rooms with him, first in Greenwich Lane, and afterward at
the New York City University, where he removed, early in the au-

DANIEL HUNTINGTON. 309

tumn of 1835, into his newly-prepared rooms in that building, on
Washington Square. At the time Professor Morse removed into his
new rooms, which were in the third story front, of the north wing,
that part of the building was not finished ; the lower rooms particu
larly, and the stairway into the third story, were unfinished. While
Professor Morse was in Greenwich Lane he seemed particularly
impatient to get into his new rooms, in order to put into operation
his plan for an electric telegraph, allusions to which he occasionally
made. He had no sooner removed into the rooms in the University
than he constructed an instrument which showed how he intended
marking characters for letters at a distance ; I distinctly remember
the general appearance of the instrument and the kind of characters
which it marked. The drawing 1 calls to my mind, as a familiar ac
quaintance, the appearance of the instrument. I am quite sure that
I saw the instrument in operation some months previous to the
time of my leaving Professor Morse. On the 15th of November,
1835, I took a room at the University by myself, which I hired,
and my recollection is, that I saw that instrument in operation at or
about the time I took that room. I cannot state the precise date."

This intelligent testimony of Mr. Huntington makes it as
certain as human testimony can make any thing, that the instru
ment was in actual operation in the year 1835.

Hon. Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State, being present at a
banquet tendered to Professor Morse, in Paris, in 1858, gave
his pleasant recollections :

"It was in early boyhood, under my father's roof, that I made
the acquaintance of our guest, then eminent in his profession as an
artist, and at the head of the National Academy of Design. I soon
learned to appreciate and admire his intelligence, his amiability,
and his worth. To a friendly intercourse thus established, and
much cherished on my part, I was indebted for an early expla
nation of his discovery, soon after his return from Europe, in 1832.
Some time afterward, in. the early part of 1836, in a room in the
New York University, I witnessed the telegraph in operation, re
cording messages, transmitted through some mile or more of wire,
suspended in successive turns around the walls ; there was a small
battery in one corner of the room, and a sort of clock-work ma
chinery in another, and the mysterious little click, click, click, of

1 See the drawing in Dr. Gale's statement.

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

the former produced a simultaneous record on the other. Theory
was reduced to practice, and the telegraph demonstrated its effi
ciency. During the winter of 1844-'45, Professor Morse was a
frequent (as he was ever a welcome) visitor in my apartment, in
Washington. The practicability of transmitting signs by sub
merged wires had been then demonstrated ; but the distance to
which they might be transmitted was of course still a problem.
Mr. Morse, however, unhesitatingly predicted the direct communi
cation between Europe and America ; he told me that I would
probably live to witness it"

Rev. Mr. Seeley, of the American chapel in Paris, said at
the same dinner :

"It seems but yesterday that I was a freshman in the New
York City University, and our honored guest Professor of the Fine
Arts in the institution, and President of the National Academy of
Design in the same city. At that time the Professor was reported
to be engaged in labors which pertained to science rather than to
art ; and there was many an ominous shake of the head, accompa
nied by expressions of apprehension that one of the best artists of
our country was sacrificing his genius to a chimera. He persisted,
however, and one afternoon in the spring, or early summer of
1836, 1 had the privilege of witnessing an experiment made by him
in a large room of the University building. There was present the
Professor, with one or two assistants, and several leading gentle
men of the city. A line of slender wire, one mile in length, was
stretched around the room in a remarkable manner. ... To one end
of the wire was attached a pen or pencil, which was held over a
strip of white paper. . . . The professor proposed to demonstrate
the possibility of transmitting and recording messages, verbatim et
literatim, over any length of wire. Some one whispered a sentence
in his ear, and in a few seconds the white paper at the opposite
end of the line was covered with broken lines. Time passed over,
when one day in 1842 I entered one of the upper lofts of the build
ing in which the New York Observer was published, and found our
Professor of the Fine Arts superintending experiments in the manu
facture of submarine cables. For he had already projected the ex
tension of telegraphic lines under water."

Commodore Shubrick, of the United States Navy, in a let
ter dated "Washington, D. C., October 5, 1860, writes to Pro
fessor Morse :

THE TELEGRAPH MADE. 311

UI have a distinct recollection that in the winter of 1835,
being in the city of New York, I was walking with our lamented
friend, the late Fenimore Cooper, when we met you, and you in
vited us to your room in the University, and that you then and
there showed us the operation of your telegraphic instrument. The
fact is impressed on my mind by the remarks made by Mr. Cooper
on the wonderful effects which would grow out of the discovery, if
successful (of which he seemed to have no doubt), on the inter
communication of the world. I have frequently seen Mr. Paul F.
Cooper, son of our late friend, who recollects having seen the oper
ation of your instrument during the same winter, though he was
then a small boy."

The Professor took possession of his rooms in the Uni
versity in the year 1835, where he set up his rude appa
ratus, and called in his friends to see its operation. There lie
wrought through the year 1836, probably the darkest and long
est year of his life, giving lessons to pupils in the art of paint
ing while his mind was in the throes of the great invention. He
needed only the means to demonstrate, on a scale to command
attention, that he had reached a result of incalculable interest
and advantage to the human race. Professor Gale has told us
of the struggles of Professor Morse during that year ; of the ne
cessary occupation of his mind with the instruction of students,
and his utter inability, from the want of money, to bring his in
vention before the public. In 1835 Dr. Tappan and others had
seen the apparatus at work and WHITING substantially in the
same manner as it writes now. " The words which I silently
gave at one end were accurately read off from the strip of paper
at the other," says Dr. Tappan. Up to this hour no human aid
had been rendered to the solitary inventor. The instrument
was constructed. The alphabet was formed. The writing at a
distance was done. The TELEGRAPH was made. It was suscep
tible of vast improvements ; they have been in progress up to
this time, and will be continued so long as art and science ad
vance. But as the invention was ORIGINAL with Professor Morse,
so the execution was his, and his only. This declaration deserves
the more emphasis because every thing essential to the complete
ness of the Telegraph was afterward claimed by or for others !
But we have seen, and proved by the most competent witnesses,

312 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

that when the Telegraph was first exhibited by Professor Morse,
and before he had called in the aid of any other hand or
mind, it was a complete instrument, with a complete alphabet,
doing the same work that is done with the Morse instrument
to-day.

Among the spectators of the successful operation of the in
strument on the 2d day of September, 1837, was Alfred Yail.
He was born in Morris County, New Jersey, in 1807, and was
graduated at the University of the City of New York in 1836.
When he first saw the experiments of the Telegraph in the rooms
of Professor Morse he grasped the idea, and formed an instant
resolution to pursue the subject. The only point on which he
desired satisfaction, and at the same point all appeared to hesi
tate, was the possibility of no limit to the distance through which
the current of electricity would flow. This was the link to con
nect experiment with success. If this link failed, the whole
thing was a failure.

It was plain enough that the Telegraph was a completed
fact. Morse had made an instrument by which words were
written at a distance, in characters intelligible to himself and
easily learned by others. Such an instrument was now in oper
ation. Men of science and men of business had seen it and
wondered. Before their eyes had been stretched a wire 1,700
feet in length, and, with the instrument which Morse had con
structed and was now using, words were silently but evidently
written down at one extremity of the wire, when communicated
at the other. The semaphores or signals of other electricians re
quired watching, and the signals were slowly interpreted. Morse
wrote and registered his messages. The work was done and
recorded. It was a writing-at-a-distance machine ; a Telegraph ;
the only Telegraph 1 But the grand question to be decided by
experiment, as Morse had already demonstrated to his own
satisfaction and that of others, w^s the possibility of indefinite
propagation. Here came in his relay — a conception and pro
duction scarcely less important than the instrument itself. Mr.
Yail would have this point clearly illustrated and settled, and
he would then cheerfully adopt the professor's favorite remark,
that, " if he could succeed in working it ten miles, he could make
it go around the globe."

THE VAILS OF SPEEDWELL. 313

" The relay" says Professor Horsford, " is a discovery as well
as a device or a series of devices or inventions. It had its birth in
the effort to answer the question, How can the current, which has
become feeble through distance from the battery, be reenforcedf
There was need of some principle akin to that which supplies a
locomotive and train with fuel, water, and oil, without stopping.
The stopping consumes time. To be obliged to repeat the message
every few miles would be to abandon it. It would be expensive as
well as time-consuming. Now, the reenforcement of the current at
a distance from the prime station, through the very instrumentality
of the message sent, is an absolute new departure. It is a grand
idea primarily, and secondarily it involves inventions of mechanical
devices to effect several things. In the first place, there is wanted
an electro-magnet at the second station, operated through the bat
tery at the primary station. This magnet must draw its armature
not to the face of the magnet, but only very near it, and in so
doing close the circuit. This takes place with the closing of the
first circuit. In opening the first circuit, the second circuit is
opened at the same instant, and the magnet at the second station,
with the arrest of the current loses its magnetism. Now a self-
acting, adjustable spring draws the armature away from the face
of the magnet, through a space very narrow, but adequate to break
the circuit at the second station. Here are the fewest elements of
the relay. It involves the opening and closing of the circuit, by an
act going out from the primary station. The relay of Professor
Morse opens and closes in connection with a conductor of an inten
sity battery, operating through a long conductor upon a distant
magnet." This was the invention Of Professor Morse described by
Professor Gale in his statement already recited in this chapter.

Mr. Yail, having become thoroughly satisfied on this point,
embarked in the enterprise. His father, Judge Stephen Yail,
and his brother, George Yail, were proprietors of extensive
iron and brass works at Speedwell, Morris County, New Jersey.
The fact that the family were engaged in such manufactures,
led the young man to entertain the idea of engaging in the con
struction of instruments to be used in the development of the
Telegraph. Before going to the University he had taken deep
interest in the business of his father and brother : the making
of steam-engines and machinery that required the use of both
iron and brass ; he had been specially engaged in the brass-

314 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

f oundery, and had become noted for his skill in working in that
metal. With mechanical genius and fondness also for study,
with a taste alike for art and science, he was emphatically the
man to be associated with the professor, himself an illustrious
example of art and science combined. The young man, ardent,
hopeful, and sincere, was not long in bringing both his father
and brother to see with him the magnificent possibilities of the
electric telegraph for usefulness in the commerce . and inter
course of mankind. They not only approved and encouraged
the resolution of their son and brother to identify himself with
the Telegraph, and to devote his life to its service, but they,
with enterprise and faith in its ultimate fruits, promised the
necessary funds to make the experiments which were essential
to insure confidence in the public mind. Many years afterward
Professor Morse, in the height of his success, and crowned with
the honors of his country and of distant nations, spoke of this
young man in these words :

" Alfred Yail, then a student in the University, and a young
man of great ingenuity, having heard of my invention, came to
my rooms and I explained it to him, and from that moment he
has taken the deepest interest in the Telegraph. Finding that
I was unable to command the means to bring my invention
properly before the public, and believing that he could com
mand those means through his father and brother, he expressed
the belief to me, and I at once made such an arrangement with
him as to procure the pecuniary means and the skill of these
gentlemen. It is to their joint liberality, but especially to the
attention, and skill, and faith in the final success of the enter
prise maintained by Alfred Yail, that is due the success of my
endeavors to bring the Telegraph at that time creditably before
the public."

With this young and ingenious student Professor Morse
entered into partnership, assigning to him one-f ourth interest in
the patent-right to be secured for the invention.

On the 10th of March, 1837, the Honorable Levi Woodbury,
Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, in consequence
of the reports that had reached the country of various schemes
of telegraphing proposed in Europe, had issued the following :

THE SECRETARY'S CIRCULAR. 315

" Circular to certain Collectors of the Customs, Commanders of
Revenue Cutters, and other Persons.

" TREASURY DEPARTMENT, March 10, 1837.

" With the view of obtaining information in regard ' to the pro
priety of establishing a system of telegraphs for the United States,'
in compliance with the request contained in the annexed resolution
of the House of Representatives, adopted at its last session, I will
thank you to furnish the Department with your opinion upon the
subject. If leisure permits, you would oblige me by pointing out
the manner, and the various particulars, in which the system may be
rendered most useful to the Government of the United States and
the public generally. It would be desirable, if in your power, to pre
sent a detailed statement as to the proper points for the location,
and distance of the stations from each other, with general rules for
the regulation of the system, together with your sentiments as to
the propriety of connecting it with any existing department of the
Government, and some definite idea of the rapidity with which in
telligence could ordinarily, and also in urgent cases, be communi
cated between distant places. I wish you to estimate the probable
expense of establishing and supporting telegraphs, upon the most
approved system, for any given distance, during any specified
period.

"It would add to the interest of the subject if you would offer
views as to the practicability of uniting, with a system of telegraphs
for communication in clear weather and in the daytime, another for
communication in fogs, by cannon, or otherwise ; and, in the night,
by the same mode, or by rockets, fires, etc.

" I should be gratified by receiving your reply by the 1st of Oc
tober next.

"LEV! WOODBUEY,

" Secretary of the Treasury"

To this circular Professor Morse replied four days before his
partnership was formed with Mr. Tail :

S. F. B. Morse to the Secretary of the Treasury.

" NEW YORK CITY UNIVERSITY, September 27, 1837.

" DEAR SIR : In reply to the inquiries which you have done me
the honor to make, in asking my opinion ' of the propriety of estab
lishing a system of telegraphs for the United States,' I would say,

316 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE.

in regard to the general question, that I believe there can scarcely
be two opinions, in such a community as ours, in regard to the ad
vantage which would result, both to the Government and the public
generally, from the establishment of a system of communication by
which the most speedy intercourse may be had between the most
distant parts of the country. The mail system, it seems to me, is
founded on the universally admitted principle that the greater the
speed with which intelligence can be transmitted from point to
point, the greater is the benefit derived to the whole community.
The only question that remains, therefore, is, what system is best
calculated, from its completenesss and cheapness, to effect this de
sirable end ?

" With regard to telegraphs constructed on the ordinary princi
ples, however perfected within the limits in which they are necessa
rily confined, the most perfect of them are liable to one insurmount
able objection — they are useless the greater part of the time. In
foggy weather, and ordinarily during the night, no intelligence can
be transmitted. Even when they can transmit, much time is con
sumed in communicating but little, and that little not always precise.

" Having invented an entirely new mode of telegraphic commu
nication, which, so far as experiments have yet been made with it,
promises results of almost marvelous character, I beg leave to pre
sent to the Department a. brief account of its chief characteristics.

" About five years ago, on my voj^age from Europe, the electri
cal experiment of Franklin, upon a wire some four miles in length,
was casually recalled to my mind in conversation with one of the
passengers, in which experiment it was ascertained that the elec
tricity traveled through the whole circuit in a time not appreciable,
but apparently instantaneous. It immediately occurred to me that,
if the presence of electricity could be made VISIBLE in any desired
part of this circuit, it would not be difficult to construct a SYSTEM
OF SIGNS by which intelligence could be instantaneously transmit
ted. The thought, thus conceived, took strong hold of my mind in
the leisure which the voyage afforded, and I planned a system of
signs, and an apparatus to carry it into effect. I cast a species of
type, which I had devised for this purpose, the first week after my
arrival home ; and, although the rest of the machinery was planned,
yet, from the pressure of unavoidable duties, I was compelled to
postpone my experiments, and was not able to test the whole plan
until within a few weeks. The result has realized my most sanguine
expectations.

PROFESSOR MORSE'S REPLY. 317

" As I have contracted with Mr. Alfred Vail to have a complete
apparatus made to demonstrate at Washington by the 1st of Janu
ary, 1838, the practicability and superiority of my mode of tele
graphic communication by means of electro-magnetism (an appa
ratus which I hope to have the pleasure of exhibiting to you), I will
confine myself in this communication to a statement of its peculiar
advantages.

" First. The fullest and most precise information can be almost
instantaneously transmitted between any two or more points be
tween which a wire conductor is laid : that is to say, no other time
is consumed than is necessary to write the intelligence to be con
veyed, and to convert the words into the telegraphic numbers. The
numbers are then transmitted nearly instantaneously (or, if I have
been rightly informed in regard to some recent experiments in the
velocity of electricity, two hundred thousand miles in a second) to
any distance, where the numbers are immediately recognized, and
reconverted into the words of the intelligence.

" Second. The same full intelligence can be communicated at
any moment, irrespective of the time of day or night, or state of the
weather. This single point establishes its superiority to all other
modes of telegraphic communication now known.

" Third. The whole apparatus will occupy but little space
(scarcely six cubic feet, probably not more than four) j1 and it may,
therefore, be placed, without inconvenience, in any house.

"Fourth. The record of intelligence is made in a permanent
manner, and in such a form that it can be at once bound up in
volumes, convenient for reference, if desired.

" Fifth. Communications are secret to all but the persons for
whom they are intended.

" These are the chief advantages of the electro-magnetic tele
graph over other kinds of telegraphs, and which must give it the
preference, provided the expense and other circumstances are rea
sonably favorable.

" The newness of the whole plan makes it not so easy to esti
mate the expense, but an approach to a correct estimate can be
made.

" The principal expense will be the first cost of the wire or me
tallic conductors (consisting of four lengths), and the securing them
against injury. The cost of a single copper wire one-sixteenth of
an inch diameter (and it should not be of less dimensions), for four

1 It now occupies a space ten inches long, eight inches high, and five wide.

31g LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

hundred miles, was recently estimated in Scotland to be about one
thousand pounds sterling, including the solderings of the wire to
gether; that is, about six dollars per mile for one wire, or twenty-
four dollars per mile for the four wires. I have recently contracted
for twenty miles of copper wire, No. 18, at forty cents per pound.
Each pound, it is. estimated, contains ninety-three feet, which gives
a result coinciding with the Scotch estimate, if one dollar and sixty
cents per mile be added for solderings.

" The preparation of the wire for being laid (if in the ground)
comprehends the clothing of the wires with an insulating or non
conducting substance ; the encasing them in wood, clay, stone, iron,
or other metal ; and the trenching of the earth to receive them. In
this part of the business I have no experience to guide me, the
whole being altogether new. I can, therefore, only make at present
a rough estimate. Iron tubes inclosing the wires, and filled in with
pitch and resin, would probably be the most eligible mode of secur
ing the conductors from injury, while, at the same time, it would be
the most costly. Iron tubes of one and one-half inch diameter, I
learn, can be obtained, at Baltimore, at twenty-eight cents per foot.
The trenching will not be more than three cents for two feet, or
about seventy-five .dollars per mile. This estimate is for a trench
three feet deep and one and one-half wide. , There is no grading •
the trench may follow the track of any road, over the highest hills
or lowest valleys. Across rivers, with bridges, the circuit may
easily be carried, inclosed beneath the bridge. Where the stream
is wide, and no bridge, the circuit, inclosed in lead, may be sunk to
the bottom.

" If the circuit is laid through the air, the first cost would doubt
less be much lessened. This plan of making the circuit has some
advantages, but there are also some disadvantages; the chief of
which latter is, that, being always in sight, the temptation to injure
the circuit to mischievously disposed persons, is greater than if it
were buried out of sight beneath their feet. As an offset, however,
to this, an injury to the circuit is more easily detected. With re
gard to danger from wantonness, it may be sufficient to say that
the same objection was originally made in the several cases, succes
sively, of water-pipes, gas-pipes, and railroads; and yet we do not
hear of wantonness injuring any of these. Stout spars of some
thirty feet in height, well planted in the ground, and placed about
three hundred and fifty feet apart, would, in this case, be required,
along the tops of which the circuit might be stretched. Fifteen such

ESTIMATED COST. 319

•

spars would be wanted to a mile. This mode would be as cheap,
probably, as any other, unless the laying of the circuit in water
should be found to be most eligible. A series of experiments to ascer
tain the practicability of this mode, I am about to commence with
Professor Gale, of our University, a gentleman of great science, and
to whose assistance, in many of my late experiments, I am greatly
indebted. We are preparing a circuit of twenty miles. The result
of our experiments I will have the honor of reporting to you.

" The other machinery, consisting of the apparatus for transmit
ting and receiving the intelligence, can be made at a very trifling
cost. The only parts of the apparatus that waste or consume mate
rials, are the batteries, which consume acid and zinc, and the regis
ter, which consumes paper for recording, and pencils or ink for
marking.

"The cost of printing, in the first instance, of a telegraphic dic
tionary, should perhaps also be taken into the account, as each
officer of the Government, as well as many others, would require a
copy, should this mode of telegraphic communication go into effect.
This dictionary would contain a vocabulary of all the words in com
mon use in the English language, with the numbers regularly affixed
to each word.

" The stations in the case of this telegraph may be as numerous
as are desired ; the only additional expense for that purpose being the
adding of the transmitting and receiving apparatus to each station.
" The cost of supporting a system of telegraphs on this plan
(when a circuit is once established) would, in my opinion, be much
less than on the common plans ; yet, for want of experience in this
mode, I would not affirm it positively.

" As to ' the propriety of connecting the system of telegraphs
with any existing department of Government,' it would seem most
natural to connect a telegraphic system with the Post-Office Depart
ment ; for, although it does not carry a mail, yet it is another mode
of accomplishing the principal object for which the mail is estab
lished, to wit : the rapid and regular transmission of intelligence.
If my system of telegraphs should be established, it is evident that
the telegraph would have but little rest, day or night. The advan
tage of communicating intelligence instantaneously, in hundreds of
instances of daily occurrence, would warrant such a rate of postage
(if it may be so called) as would amply defray all expenses of the
first cost of establishing the system, and of guarding it, and keeping
it in repair.

320 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" As every word is numbered, an obvious mode of rating might
be, a charge of a certain amount on so many numbers. I presume
that five words can certainly be transmitted in a minute ; for, with
the imperfect machinery I now use, I have recorded at that rate,
at the distance of half a mile.

" In conclusion, I would say, that if the perfecting of this new
system of telegraphs (which may justly be called the American
Telegraph, since I can establish my claims to priority in the inven
tion) shall be thought of public utilit}7, and worthy the attention of
Government, I shall be ready to make any sacrifice of personal ser
vice and of time to aid in its accomplishment.

" In the mean time I remain, sir, with sincere respect and high
personal esteem,

" Your most obedient, humble servant,

"SAM'L F. B. MORSE.

"Hon. LEVI WOODBTJRY,

" Secretary of the Treasury"

Professor Morse then filed in the Patent-Office at Washing
ton the following PETITION :

That your petitioner has invented a new method of transmitting
and recording intelligence by means of electro-magnetism, which
he denominates the American Electro- Magnetic Telegraph, etc.

Petition dated September 28, 1837.

SPECIFICATION- OF THE AMERICAN ELECTRO-MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH.

To all whom it may concern : Be it known that I, Samuel F.
B. Morse, of the city of New York, in the county and State of New
York, have invented a new method of transmitting and recording
intelligence by means of electro-magnetism, which I call the Ameri
can Electro-Magnetic Telegraph, and I do hereby declare that the
following is a full and exact description of said telegraph, so far as
it is at present completed. The nature of my invention consists in
laying an electric or galvanic circuit, or conductors, of any length,
to any distance. These conductors may be made of any metal,
such as copper or iron wire, or strips of copper or iron, or of cord,
or twine, or other substances, gilt, silvered, or covered with any
thin metal leaf, properly insulated, in the ground, or through or be
neath the water, or through the air, and by causing the electric or
galvanic current to pass through the circuit by means of any gen
erator of electricity, to make use of the visible signs of the presence
of electricity in any part of the said circuit to communicate any in
telligence from one place to another. To make the said visible

MORSE'S CAVEAT. 321

signs of electricity available for the purpose aforesaid, I have
invented the following apparatus, namely :

1. A system of signs, by which numbers, and consequently
words and sentences, are signified.

2. A set of type, adapted to regulate and communicate the
signs, with cases, for convenient keeping of the type, and rules, in
which to set up the type.

3. An apparatus called the portrule, for regulating the move
ment of the type-rules, which rules, by means of the type, in their
turn regulate the times and intervals of the passage of electricity.

4. A register which records the signs permanently.

5. A dictionary or vocabulary of words, numbered and adapted
to this system of telegraph.

6. Modes of laying conductors to preserve them from injury.

1. The System of Signs.

The signs are the representatives first of numerals, and are as
follows : The single numerals are represented by ten marks, such as
dots, lines, or punctures, varied thus : A single mark signifies the
numeral one ; two marks, two ; three marks, three; four marks,
four ; five marks, five; six marks, six; seven marks, seven ; eight
marks, eight; nine marks, nine; and ten marks, ten, or cipher.
The cipher is also signified by a single mark differently placed
from the rest. The numerals are separated from each other by short
intervals, so that they would be represented in the different ways,
shown in Example 1, of the annexed drawing. The compound
numbers are separated from each other by long intervals ; for exam
ple, the compound number 324, compounded of 3, and 2, and 4, and
the compound number 516, compounded of 5, and 1, and 6, would
be represented as shown in Fig. 1, Example 2.

The sign for cipher ( \_J\_J ), or ( JH^i ), or ( ), placed

before a number, signifies that that number is to be read as a num
ber, and not as the representative of a word, thus : " Send 56
copies," would be thus represented : Suppose the word " send " to
be represented by the number 21, and the word " copies " by 34,
then the sentence would be written as in Fig. 2, Example 2. Thus
all numbers, and consequently all words, are easily represented.

2. The Type.

A set of type, made of thin metal, such as type-metal, brass,
iron, or other material, consists of twelve different pieces, of the
figure and dimensions represented in Example 3 of the annexed
drawing.

The rest is for the lever (hereinafter described) to rest upon pre
vious to beginning to communicate. Each type has a notch or in
dentation corresponding to its denomination, and the short space
in addition. The number of each type is marked upon that part
occupied for the space, or interval ; the cipher is either marked by
21

322 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

the type with ten notches, or with the type of a single tooth, be
tween two sunken spaces. Two additional pieces, making fourteen
in all, are, first, the space^ or long interval, placed between separate
and compound numbers ; and, second, the stop, or long type, which
-throws up the lever upon a detent, until wanted again.

The cases are of wood, or other suitable material, with small com
partments of the exact length of each type, for the greater con
venience in distributing them.

The rules are of wood, metal, or other suitable material, and are
formed about three feet long, and with a groove in which to place
the type as represented in Example 4. The rule is furnished with
cogs, for the purpose of being moved by a pinion-wheel.

3. The Portrule.

The portrule is for the purpose of carrying the rule, when pre
pared with its type. It consists — 1. Of a small lever, somewhat
like the levers to the keys of a hand-organ, but with the power be
tween the fulcrum and the weight. The lever is made to rise or
fall by passing the rule with its type beneath the projection or
single cog in the lever, which cog falls into each notch and rises on
each tooth of the type. The lever is made a portion of the circuit
by affixing a small portion of the conductor to it, with a joint at
the hinge-end of the lever, moving in mercury, or otherwise con
nected, so that the circuit be not interrupted. The other end of
the small portion of the circuit is at the end of the lever, which
has the most motion, and, by the rise and fall of the lever, is
made to break and close the circuit at the desired times. The
movable point of the conductor closes the circuit either by a touch,
either into mercury, which holds the other extremity of the circuit,
or upon a plate of copper, silver, or other metal attached to the said
extremity.

The rule is made to pass with regularity, as to space and time,
beneath the lever, by means of a pinion-wheel fitting into the cogs
of the rule, which wheel is made to revolve either by a crank moved
by the hand, or by other power, in any of the well-known and common
mechanical methods.

The rule is kept in its course by a channel, or ways, made for
that purpose. The portrule sends the intelligence.

, 4. The Register.

The register, at any distance from the portrule, receives and re
cords the intelligence, and is thus constructed : 1. An electro-mag
net, made in any of the usual modes of forming it, such as winding
insulated copper wire, or strips of copper, or tin-foil, or other metal,
around a bar of soft iron, either straight or bent into a circular
form, has the two extremities of the coils connected with the cir
cuit or conductors, so that the coils round the magnet make part of
the circuit. The power of this magnet is applied — 2. To a lever, or

THE FIRST CAVEAT. 323

pendulum, by affixing to the said lever, or pendulum, the armature of
the magnet, or short bar of iron, at such a distance that the electro
magnet will readily attract it. A small weight, or spring, keeps
the lever and armature from the magnet when the magnet is not in
action. To the lever, or pendulum, is attached — 3. A pencil, or
fountain pen, or a small printing-wheel, or any other marking ma
terial. This pencil, or other marking material, is made to mark
upon — 4. A light cylinder of a size to hold a convenient sheet of
paper, which is wrapped around it. The cylinder is made to re
volve, as to time and place, slowly and regularly upon its arbor, or
shaft, by means of clock-machinery, and to advance a short dis
tance upon the staff every revolution by means of a screw and cog
apparatus, so that a line formed by a stationary point above the
cylinder describes upon it a spiral or screw line. The point of the
pencil, or other marking material, is kept in contact with the sur
face of the paper upon the cylinder either by its own weight or
by a small weight attached to it ; or, when the printing-wheel is
used, the wheel is brought into contact with the paper by the mag
net, when required to mark. 5. A bascule, or method of changing
the poles of the magnet, after every stroke of the lever, is affixed to
the magnet, and regulated by the movement of the lever. 6. An
alarm apparatus, to give notice that a communication is about to be
made, is also affixed, and is made to strike or give notice at the first
movement of the lever. To each register are attached duplicate cylin
ders, for the convenience of continued writing, so that when one cylin
der is filled, the other cylinder, by a shifting apparatus, begins to re
ceive the marks. The paper, when ready to be removed from the
cylinder, forms a regular page, prepared for binding in a volume.

5. The Dictionary, or Vocabulary.

The dictionary is a complete vocabulary of words alphabetically
arranged and regularly numbered, beginning with the letters of the
alphabet, so that each word in the language has its telegraphic
number. The modes which I propose of laying the circuit, and of
insulating the wires and conductors, are various. The wires may
be insulated by winding each wire with silk, cotton, flax, or hemp,
and then dipping them into a solution of caoutchouc, or into a solu
tion of shellac, or into pitch or resin and caoutchouc. They may be
laid through the air, inclosed above the ground, in the ground, or in
the water. When through the air, they may be insulated by a cover
ing that shall protect them from the weather, such as cotton, flax, or
hemp, and dipped into any solution which is a non-conductor, and
elevated upon pillars. When inclosed above the ground, they may
be laid in tubes of iron or lead, and these again may be inclosed
in wood, if desirable. When laid in the ground, they may be
inclosed in iron, leaden, wooden, or earthen tubes, and tniried be
neath the surface. Across rivers the circuit may be carried beneath
the bridges, or, where there are no bridges, inclosed in lead or iron

324 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

and sunk at the bottom, or stretched across, where the banks are
high, upon pillars elevated on each side of the river.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by letters-
patent, and to protect for one year, by a caveat, is, a method of re
cording permanently -, by electrical signs, which, by means of metallic
wires, or other good conductors of electricity, convey intelligence be
tween two or more places.

In testimony whereof, I, the said S. F. B. Morse, hereto sub
scribe my name, in the presence of the witnesses whose names are
hereunto subscribed, on the 3d day of October, A. D. 1837.

SAML. F. B. MOESE.

Signed in our presence :

ALEX. J. DAVIS, )

E. 0. MARTIN.

Six days after the partnership with Mr. Vail was formed, Mr.
Morse wrote to him : " I have only that which is agreeable to tell
you. Since you were here, I have had a most satisfactory letter
from Hon. W. C. Rives, and also from Captain Pell, who was the
commander of the Sully on my passage home. They both have
given me most unqualified testimony to the priority of my inven
tion on board the ship. We have also had a visit from Dr. Jones, of
the Patent-Office, one of the examiners of patents, for many years,
at Washington.

" He expressed great satisfaction at the Telegraph, and seemed
highly gratified that I intended to exhibit it at Washington.

" I have dispatched my letter to the Secretary of the Treasury,
and have the papers and drawings nearly ready for the Patent-
Office. They will be on their way, probably, on Monday, or, at
farthest, on Tuesday.

KSP33 " If you intend to do any thing in England or France, no
time is to be lost, c=|gj

" I hold myself in readiness to execute the commission with re
spect to the portraits, any time after next week, and hope to find
the machinery in a state of such advancement that we may have
time before the winter session to become perfectly familiar with it,
so as to strike conviction at once into the minds of the members of
Congress, when we exhibit its powers before the powers that be.

" Professor Gale's services will be invaluable to us, and I am
glad he is disposed to enter into the matter with zeal. The more I
think of the whole matter, the more I am convinced that, if it is
perseveringly pushed at the moment (so favorable on many ac
counts to its adoption by Government), the result will be all that
we ought to wish for. We want the wire. We are ready for some

SPECULATORS AND THE TELEGRAPH. 325

important experiments necessary to establish with certainty some
points not yet established by experiment. The law of the magnetic
influence at a distance is not yet discovered, and your twenty miles
of wire may enable us to make this discovery and to keep ahead of
our European rivals, as well as to proceed with certainty in our
other arrangements."

The preparation of a dictionary of the Telegraph was now a
work to which the inventor gave much of his time. This was
to contain a list of words to which reference could be made by
figures and combinations of figures, so that a message might be
transmitted with the least possible labor and in the shortest
time, yet perfectly intelligible.

Instantly upon the new Telegraph's becoming a subject of
discussion, its importance in commerce suggested itself to the
active mercantile mind. Before a wire had been stretched
along a line of travel, and while Professor Morse was impatient
with the manufacturers, who could not produce wire as fast as
he wished, he was approached by speculative men, who would
have a private line, which they could use for their own pur
poses. He alludes to their proposals in the first of the letters
to Mr. Tail, which follow :

" October 11, 1837. — I have been consulted (in confidence),
that is (between us all), on the subject of a secret communication of
some two hundred miles, the particulars of which I must leave till
I see you. If our water experiment succeeds, I think we shall
have immediately a commission of the kind in question. But be
close on the subject, for it is essential to its success that it be
secret. Verbum sat. I am not idle, I assure you. You can have
little conception of the labor of the dictionary. I am up early
and late, yet its progress is slow ; but I shall not now leave it till
it is complete. I have received the notice from the Patent-Office
that the caveat is regularly filed, and all is right there. . . ."

" October 14, 1837. — The dictionary occupies now all my time.
It is a most tedious, never-ending work. Yet I find that practice
gives me facilities, and I hope soon to complete it. You will be
pleased with my plan of the permanent dictionary, which I have
drawn out ready to show you when I see you. I bring the whole
within the consulting face of twenty-three by twenty-six inches"

" October 24, 1837. — The reels have arrived safely, and we ad-

326 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

mire the workmanship of them exceedingly ; they are exactly right.
We have already wound nearly four miles upon one reel, which will
hold five miles. The wire is all wound with cotton, and is all in
our room. The wire proves to be not good / it is made of bad
copper, and is brittle, and in short lengths ; we have much trouble
and consume much time in soldering it, etc. The spark passes
freely as yet — three and a half miles — and magnetizes well at that
distance, though evidently with diminished strength, which would
seem to indicate that there is a limit somewhere. We have just
heard that Professor Wheatstone has tried an experiment with his
method — twenty miles — with success ; we have therefore nothing
to fear. We also learn that he has sent, to take out a patent, to
this country. My caveat will be in his way. Professor Locke, of
Cincinnati, who has just returned, tells us all this, and he knows
Wheatstone and his whole plan, and says there are no less than
six disputants for the priority of the invention in England. He
also says that no one of the European plans pretends to record
permanently ; that mine is decidedly superior in that respect, and
peculiar. . . .

" The dictionary is at last done. You cannot conceive how
much labor there has been in it; but it is accomplished, and we
can now talk or write any thing by numbers."

Professor Morse went over to Morristown, and on his re
turn wrote to Mr. Yail that Professor -Gale was sending the
current through TEN miles of wire :

" November 13, 1837. — I arrived just in time to see the experi
ment Professor Gale was making with the entire ten miles, and you
will be gratified and agreeably surprised when I inform you that
the result now is, that with a little addition of wire to the coils of
the small magnet, which I had all along used, the power was as
great apparently through ten as through three miles. This result
has surprised us all, yet there is no mistake, and I conceive settles
the whole matter. The battery of large plates is, however, abso
lutely needed ; for now the small plates burn the mercury, which
must be remedied by using larger plates. If we had the remaining
ten miles, it would doubtless be much more satisfactory to the com
mittee of Congress.

" With respect to an experiment at Speedwell, Dr. Gale thinks
there will be no difficulty in transporting a couple of miles of wire,
wound off on one of the other reels ; with this we could perform all

LETTER TO THE SECRETARY. 337

that is necessary to show the efficiency of the Telegraph, and the
Doctor is willing to accompany me out, or to come out when all
things are ready. So the new room may be prepared if you think
best, and we will talk from your father's to your brother's house ; I
can bring out the dictionary when I come, or when you come in.

" The plan of casting the zinc on the copper, the doctor says, is
just the thing. The trough I have rudely drawn on the other leaf;
its size must be regulated by the size and number of the plates. The
troughs (there should be two for fifty plates each) ought to be of
mahogany, and you will require some tar and rosin to put the plates
and trough in order. The plates may be one-quarter of an inch
from each other. I am going down-town to inquire about copper,
zinc, etc. The connection at the portrule I shall make with mer
cury. Leave that part till I see you."

In ^November Professor Morse wrote again to the Secretary
of the Treasury :

"NEW YORK, November 28, 1837.

" MY DEAR SIE : In my letter to you in answer to the circular
respecting telegraphs, which you did me the honor to send me, I
promised to advise you of the result of some experiments about to
be tried with my electro-magnetic telegraph. I informed you that I
had succeeded in marking permanently and intelligibly at the dis
tance of half a mile.

" Professor Gale, of our University, and Mr. Alfred Vail, of the
Speedwell Iron- Works, near Morristown, New Jersey, are now asso
ciated with me in the scientific and mechanical parts of the inven
tion. We have procured several miles of wire, and I am happy to
announce to you that our success has, thus far, been complete. At a
distance of five miles, with a common Cruikshank's battery of
eighty-seven plates (four by three and a half inches each plate), the
marking was as perfect on the register as in the first instance of
half a mile. We have recently added five miles more, making in all
ten miles, with the same result; and we have now no doubt of jts
effecting a similar result at any distance. I also stated to you, sir,
that machinery was in progress of making, with which, so soon as it
should be completed, I intended to proceed to Washington, to ex
hibit the powers of the invention before you and other members of
the Government. I had hoped to be in Washington before the ses
sion of Congress, but I find that the execution of new machinery
is so uncertain in its time of completion that I shall be delayed,

328

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

probably, until the beginning of the year. What I wish to learn
from you, sir, is, How late in the session can I delay my visit,
and yet be in season to meet the subject of telegraphs, when it shall
be presented by your report to Congress ? I am anxious, of course,
to show as perfect an instrument as possible, and would wish as
much time for the purpose of perfecting it as can be allowed with
out detriment to my interests as an applicant for the attention of
Government to the best plan of a telegraph. I am, my dear sir,
with the greatest respect and personal esteem, your most obedient
servant, SAM'L F. B. MOUSE.

"Hon. LEVI WOODBURY, Secretary of the Treasury"

THE FIRST COMMUNICATION TO CONGRESS.

The Secretary of the Treasury, December 11, 1837, submit
ted the following report to the Speaker of the House of Repre
sentatives :

"TREASURY DEPARTMENT, December 6, 1837.

" SIR : I have the honor to present this report in compliance with
the following resolution, which passed the House of Representatives
on the 3d of February last, viz. : c Resolved, That the Secretary of
the Treasury be requested to report to the House of Representa
tives, at its next session, upon the propriety of establishing a sys
tem of telegraphs for the United States.' Immediately after its
passage I prepared a circular, with the view of procuring, from the
most intelligent sources, such information as would enable Congress,
as well as the Department, to decide upon the propriety of establish
ing a system of telegraphs. It seemed also important to unite with
the inquiry the procurement of such facts as might show the ex
pense attending different systems ; the celerity of communication by
each ; and the useful objects to be accomplished by their adoption.
A copy of the circular is annexed (1).

" The replies have been numerous, and many of them are very
full and interesting. Those deemed material are annexed, num
bered two to eighteen, inclusive. From these communications, and
such other investigations as the pressure of business has enabled me
to make, I am satisfied that the establishment of a system of tele
graphs for the United States would be useful to commerce as well
as the Government. It might most properly be made appurtenant
to the Post-Office Department, and, during war, would prove a most
essential aid to the military operations of the country. The ex-

PROFESSOR GALE A PARTNER. 339

pense attending it is estimated carefully in some of the documents
annexed ; but it will depend much upon the kind of system adopted ;
upon the extent and location of the lines first established ; and the
charges made to individuals for communicating information through
it which may not be of a public character. On these points, as the
Department has not been requested to make a report, no opinion is
expressed ; but information concerning them was deemed useful as a
guide in deciding on the propriety of establishing telegraphs, and was,
therefore, requested in the circular before mentioned. Many useful
suggestions in relation to the subject will be found in the correspond
ence annexed, and in the books there referred to. The Department
would take this occasion to express, in respect to the numerous gen
tlemen whose views are now submitted to Congress, its high appre
ciation and sincere acknowledgments for the valuable contributions
they have made on a subject of so much interest. I remain, very
respectfully, your obedient servant,

"LEVI WOODBUEY,

" Secretary of the Treasury.
" Hon. J. K. POLK,

"Speaker of the House of Representatives"

Professor L. D. Gale was now made a partner with Profess
or Morse and Mr. Tail, and a series of experiments was entered
npon at the Speedwell Iron-Works, for the purpose of still fur
ther improving and testing the system and the machinery essen
tial for success. While here, in the midst of the factories and
engaged with Mr. Vail in the perfection of his instruments, the
Professor's old love for his pencil is strong upon him, and he
is employed in painting the portraits of the family. An exten
sive building, originally designed for a cotton-factory, furnished
a convenient place for the extension of the wires. Young Alfred
Vail, fired with the same enthusiasm that had sustained the in
ventor through so many years of discouragement and struggle,
wrought night and day upon the instrument to bring it as nearly
as possible to perfection. The instrument thus produced is still
in existence, and was exhibited near the close of the life of Pro
fessor Morse, when, in the presence of applauding thousands, he
sat on the platform in the Academy of Music, in the city of
New York, on the evening of the day when his statue had been
inaugurated in the Central Park, and with his own fingers sent

330 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

telegraphic messages across the continent and the ocean to the
ends of the earth. The instrument being completed with the
aid of Judge Stephen Vail, Hon. Greorge Vail, M. C., and Mr.
Alfred Yail, the first experiment was made with three miles of
coated copper wire, stretched around a room of the factory in
Speedwell, on the 6th day of January, 1838.

The Momstown Journal made a report of the experiment
in these words :

" It is with some degree of pride, we confess, that it falls to our
lot first to announce the complete success of this wonderful piece of
mechanism, and that hundreds of our citizens were the first to wit
ness its surprising results. No place could have been found more
suitable to pursue the course of experiments necessary to perfect
ing the detail of machinery than the quiet retirement of the Speed
well works, replete as they are with every kind of convenience
which capital and mechanical skill can supply. Professor Morse
has quietly pursued the great object which for a considerable time
has engaged his attention, and has finally succeeded in carrying
it out into sucessful practice, aided by the ingenuity of Mr. Alfred
Vail. Others may have suggested the possibility of conveying in
telligence by electricity, but this is the first instance of its actual
transmission and permanent record.

" The Telegraph consists of four parts :

" 1. The Battery — A Cruikshank's galvanic trough of sixty
pair of plates, seven by eight and a half inches each.

" 2. The Portrule — An instrument which regulates the motion
of the rule. The rule answers to the stick of the printers, and in
it the type representing the numbers to be transmitted are passed
beneath the lever, which closes and breaks the circuit.

" 3. The Register — An instrument which receives and records
the numbers sent by the portrule from any distant station.

" 4. A Dictionary — Containing a complete vocabulary of all the
words in the English language, regularly numbered.

" The communication which we saw, made through a distance of
two miles, was the following sentence : ' Railroad cars just ar
rived, 345 passengers?

" These words were put into numbers through the dictionary ;
the numbers were set up in the telegraph type in about the same
time ordinarily occupied in setting up the same in a printing-office.
They were then all passed, -complete, by the portrule in about half
a minute, each stroke of the lever of the portrule at one extremity
marking on the register at the other, a distance of two miles, instan
taneously. We watched the spark at one end, and the mark of the
pencil at the other, and they were as simultaneous as if the lever
itself had struck the mark. The marks or numbers were easily
legible, and by means of the dictionary were resolved again into
words."

THE FIRST MESSAGE PRESERVED. 331

The instrument was now ready to be submitted to the public.
Professor Morse would show it first to a few intelligent and ap
preciating friends in New York. With this object in view, he
issued invitations, of which the following, to General Cum-
mings, is a copy :

" Professor Morse requests the honor of Thomas S. Cummings,
Esq., and family's company in the Geological Cabinet of the Uni
versity, Washington Square, to witness the operation of the elec
tro-magnetic Telegraph, at a private exhibition of it to a feu*
friends, previous to its leaving the city for Washington.

" The apparatus will be prepared at precisely twelve o'clock, on
Wednesday, 24th instant. The time being limited, punctuality is
specially requested.

"NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, January 22, 1838."

A large and intelligent company, including many of the
most learned and influential citizens attended, in response to
similar invitations. Some, who were present, have given their
recollections of that eventful day; of the modest, quiet self-
possession of the inventor, now submitting to the scrutiny of
skeptics and objectors the result of his patient years of toil.
Gentlemen were requested to give brief dispatches, which were
sent over the coil of wire, and read by one who had no knowl
edge of the words that had been given to the operator. Aston
ishment was the sensation of the hour. The work bordered
upon the miraculous. " To see is to believe," but this result
staggered the faith of spectators. General Cummings had re
cently been promoted to a military command, and, in allusion
perhaps to that fact, one of his friends present wrote, and Pro
fessor Morse manipulated the instrument to transmit, a sentence,
which was produced in telegraphic characters, and read :

" ATTENTION, THE UNIVERSE !
Br KINGDOMS, RIGHT WHEEL ! "

Letter by letter, word by word, the sentence was written with
the four fingers of the telegraph, so that it was produced four
times, on the strip of paper that was moved by the clock-work
to receive the impression.

As this is the first sentence that was ever recorded by the
Telegraph, and preserved, a fac-simile is here given of the

333 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

original, now in the possession of General Cummings. It is
upon one strip of paper just thirty-six inches in length. :

The words were chosen, perhaps playfully, with no thought
of their significance beyond the momentary impression, but the
one who suggested them was undoubtedly under the influence
of the feeling then pervading the minds of all present, that
they were standing on the threshold of an event that would
command the attention of the world. And they were not mis
taken.

The admiration of the company was unbounded. They
cheered the inventor with their warm and loud congratulations.
Doubt was dispelled. The triumph was complete. The Jour
nal of Commerce of January 29, 1838, had the following notice
of the exhibition :

NOTICE OF THE EXHIBITION. 333

" THE TELEGRAPH. — We did not witness the operation of Pro
fessor Morse's Electro-Magnetic Telegraph on Wednesday last, but
we learn that the numerous company of scientific persons who were
present pronounced it entirely successful. Intelligence was in
stantaneously transmitted through a circuit of TEN MILES, and
legibly written on a cylinder at the extremity of the circuit. The
great advantages which must result to the public from this inven
tion will warrant an outlay on the part of the Government sufficient
to test its practicability, as a general means of transmitting intelli
gence. Professor Morse has recently improved on his mode of
marking, by which he can dispense altogether with the telegraphic
dictionary, using letters instead of numbers, and he can transmit
ten words per minute, which is more than double the number which
can be transmitted by means of the dictionary."

The New York Observer copied the above, and remarked :

" The primitive Telegraph was doubtless that mentioned by Ho
mer — the lighting of a fire on a hill, to give notice of the arrival of a
fleet, or of any other expected event, of which that had been made,
by previous agreement, the signal. As an improvement upon this,
one of the Greek writers recommends a square vessel, filled in part
with water, with a large cork floating upon it. Upon the side of
this cork should be written various sentences, conveying expected
intelligence. At a given signal the water should be drawn from
this vessel, till the sentence to be conveyed should be just visible at
the top of the vessel, which should be announced by another signal.
An observer on a distant hill, furnished with a similar apparatus,
by drawing water from his vessel for the same length of time,
would ascertain the sentence intended to be conveyed. This he
could in the same manner transmit to another, and so on, as far as
the time should extend. The great defect of the method is, that no
intelligence could be conveyed by it, except such as is anticipated
and provided for. To remedy this defect has been the great object
of inventors of Telegraphs to this day. The most perfect system
yet in operation consists of signals representing the nine digits
with the cipher, by the use of which all numbers can be transmitted ;
a numbered dictionary of sentences, conveying all items of infor
mation that can be anticipated ; a numbered dictionary of words ;
and finally, we believe, but are not sure, the designation of the
letters of the alphabet by numbers. Much study has been expended
and great ingenuity displayed in bringing this system to perfection.

334 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Its great and obvious defect is, that it can be used only in fair
weather.

" Some two or three years since an officer in the British Navy
announced the invention of a code of signals which should be in
telligible to all nations. The details of his plan, we think, have
never been made public. The object might be accomplished by a
telegraphic or numbered dictionary, translated into all languages,
so that in all languages the same number should stand against a
word or sentence of the same meaning. These numbers would
then resemble the Chinese characters, in which persons of different
nations may correspond without understanding each other's spoken
language. On this plan all idiomatic expressions must be avoided,
and the various inflections of words, to express number, case, tense,
etc., must be gathered from the connection ; for, if all derived forms
of words were inserted in the dictionary, it would make a book of
monstrous and unmanageable dimensions.

" The Electro- Magnetic Telegraph, it will be seen, possesses the
following important advantages over any previously in use :

" 1. It is wholly independent of the weather. Clouds, fogs, or the
darkness of midnight, are no impediment to its operation. It is
often most necessary to announce the arrival, situation, and wants
of ships, when, from the state of the weather, or the darkness of
night, other telegraphs are wholly useless. Even in the best
weather, by working at night as well as by day, twice as much can
be done in the twenty-four hours.

" 2. It conveys intelligence with greater rapidity. There is no
reason to doubt, from any facts or principles yet discovered, that
intelligence may be conveyed from New York to Washington, or
even to New Orleans, without any appreciable loss of time. It is
not necessary to have an observatory every few miles, at which
time is lost by observing the signals and repeating them, that they
may be seen at the next observatory. Time is saved, too, by dis
pensing with the dictionary.

" 3. It conveys intelligence more perfectly. It can spell any
word correctly. It can give us number and person, mood and
tense. If thought best, it can give us the punctuation, and, in short,
furnish the copy, ready for the hands of any printer who under
stands the telegraphic alphabet.

" 4. It conveys intelligence with greater certainty. It does not,
like other telegraphs, merely hoist up signals, which may be seen,
if any one is looking for them ; but it records its message perma-

THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE. 335

nently on paper, where it will remain, and may be read at leisure.
It will be seen at once that intelligence thus recorded will be much
more sure to reach him to whom it is sent, and to be correctly
interpreted.

"Nothing but an actual trial, on an extensive scale, and for
several years, can show with certainty the full advantages of this
invention. We think it evident, however, from what has already
been shown, that its value cannot fail to be great."

The next step of the inventor was to bring the instrument
to the notice of the Government of the United States. With
boldness that speaks well for his candor as well as for his confi
dence in his invention, he went to Philadelphia and submitted
it to the Franklin Institute of that city. This society was com
posed of men eminent in science, and deeply imbued with the
philosophic spirit of inquiry of the illustrious man whose name
it bears. There was great fitness in first submitting to a Frank
lin Institute the first invention which proposed to reduce light
ning to the service of man. Robert M. Patterson, Esq., of
Philadelphia, an active member of the Franklin Institute,
having heard of the wonderful invention, wrote to Professor
Morse, January 19, 1838, and said to him :

" I am pleased to hear that you have brought your scheme for an
electro-magnetic telegraph to such a degree of perfection that you
are prepared to exhibit its action, and propose to show it at Wash
ington. Will you permit me to ask you whether it would be con
venient to you, and consistent with your views, to stop for a short
time at Philadelphia on your way, and let it be seen by the Com
mittee of Science and Arts of the Franklin Institute ? This com
mittee has taken an interest in the subject of telegraphs, and has
reported upon it to the Secretary of the Treasury. They would be
gratified to examine a scheme so eligible and plausible as that which
you propose."

The invitation was promptly accepted, and the exhibition
was made by Professor Morse on the 8th of February, 1838.
The committee reported their high gratification with Professor
Morse's Telegraph, and their hope that the Government would
give him the means to test it upon an extensive scale. The re
port was signed by gentlemen whose names and position justly

336 LIFE OF SlMUEL F. B. MORSE.

commanded the respect of the public. The signers Were : E. M.
Patterson, chairman; Eoswell Park, Sears C. Walker, Isaiah
Lukens, Franklin Peale, and Joseph Saxton.

Robert M. Patterson filled with eminent ability the professor
ships of Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, and Mathematics in the
University of Pennsylvania ; afterward the professorship of Natural
Philosophy in the University of Virginia ; and from 1835 to 1851
was Director of the Mint at Philadelphia. He was president of the
American Philosophical Society, and a leading member and officer
of the Franklin Institute. He was a strong believer in the future
of science, and ever ready to welcome with enthusiasm the novelties
of inventors.

Eoswell Park was Professor of Natural Philosophy in the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania. He was a man of varied information, and
wrote a work called " Pantology," a classification of the branches
of human knowledge.

Sears C. Walker was Actuary of the Pennsylvania Life Insur
ance Company ; Professor of Mathematics in the Philadelphia High
School, and eminent in that branch of science.

Isaiah Lukens was a famous clock-maker of Philadelphia, the
constructor of the present Independence-Hall (State-House) clock,
and an extremely ingenious mechanician. He once, for amusement,
constructed a ' perpetual-motion ' machine, the secret motive power
of which was a mystery that for a time baffled the wise even.

Franklin Peale was another master in mechanics. He was for
over twenty-one years connected with the Philadelphia Mint, as
melter and refiner and chief coiner, and devised and put into opera
tion the greater part of the machinery still in successful use there.

Joseph Saxton was also eminent as a mechanician. At the
time of the Morse experiment he was at the head of the machinists
of the mint, but was soon after transferred to Washington, where
he was placed at the head of the Department of Weights and
Measures, under the Superintendent of the Coast Survey.

Professor Morse wrote with great enthusiasm to his brothers
in New York, announcing his success in Philadelphia, and re
ceived a letter from Sidney, who said :

" Your invention, measuring it by the power which it will give
man to accomplish his plans, is not only the greatest invention of
this age, but the greatest invention of any age. I see, as an almost

BEFORE THE PRESIDENT AND CABINET. 337

immediate effect, that the surface of the earth will be net-worked
with wire, and every wire will be a nerve, conveying to every part
intelligence of what is doing in every other part. The earth will
become a huge animal with ten million hands, and in every hand a
pen to. record whatever the directing soul may dictate. No limit
can be assigned to the value of the invention."

From Philadelphia Mr. Morse went to Washington, to chal
lenge the attention of the Government. It was late in the
session of Congress, and every day was precious. He obtained
the use of the room of the Committee on Commerce, in the
Capitol, and into it introduced the apparatus, clumsy and rude
indeed, but amply adequate to demonstrate to all comers that it
could write at a distance ; that is, that he had a real Telegraph.
To this room he invited members of Congress, foreign minis
ters, and men of science. They came and saw and wondered,
but went away with little faith. Mr. Morse received the
following note, on the day of its date, from the Secretary of the
Navy :

" M. Dickerson presents his respects to Dr. Morse, and informs
him that the President and heads of department propose to witness
the experiments upon the Galvano-Magnetic Telegraph, to-morrow
at one o'clock, February 20, 1838."

It was directed to " Dr. Morse, room of the Committee of
Commerce, H. B." The next day, February 21st, Mr. Yan
Buren, President of the United States, and the entire Cabinet,
including John Forsyth, Secretary of State, Levi Woodbury,
Secretary of the Treasury, J. R. Poinsett, Secretary of War,
and M. Dickerson, Secretary of the Navy, visited the room, and
saw the experiments. The chairman of the Committee on Com
merce, Hon. F. O. J. Smith, had apprehended the greatness of
the coming event, and had encouraged Mr. Morse to hope for
success. The inventor, nervously excited, as the eyes of the
Government and country were now fixed upon him and his in
vention, rose to the grandeur of the occasion, and with steady
hand, and modest but intelligent words, demonstrated to the
President of the United States and the company, that a Tele
graph was an accomplished fact. The huge coil of wire on the
reels contained a circuit of ten miles, and_, as sentence after sen-
22

33g LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

tence was spoken at one extremity and written down at the
other, it was plain enough that it would work just as well on a
straight line in the open air.

Mr. Smith, the chairman of the Committee on Commerce,
was in a position to forward the views of the inventor, and,
happily for him, appreciated its vast capabilities, and lent his
great energies to its advancement. Before the experiments
were publicly made in "Washington, Mr. Smith had brought
Professor Morse before the committee, and inspired him with
so much confidence, that he wrote the following letter :

S. F. B. Morse to Hon. F. 0. J. Smith.

"WASHINGTON, February 15, 1838,

" DEAK SIR : In consequence of the conversation had with the
committee on the subject of my Telegraph, I would state that I
think it desirable that an experiment, on a somewhat extended scale,
should first be made to test both the practicability and the facility
of communicating intelligence for at least one hundred miles. The
experiment may proceed, as to cost, with perfect safety to the Gov
ernment : 1. The wire for this distance, consisting of four lengths,
making a total of four hundred miles of wire, might be obtained,
and receive its covering of cotton and other insulation. This length
would amply suffice to ascertain the law of the propulsive power of
voltaic electricity, and previous to any measures being taken for
burying it in the earth. So that, if any unforeseen difficulty should
occur fatal to its practicability, the wire is not consumed or lost.
If the expected success is realized, then, 2. The preparation of the
wire might be commenced for burying in the earth, and being
found complete through the whole route, the several portrules,
registers, batteries, etc., might be provided to put the Telegraph
into complete action. This experiment of one hundred miles would
furnish the data from which to make the estimates of a more gen
eral extension of the system. If no insurmountable obstacles pre
sent themselves in a distance of one hundred miles, none may be
expected in one thousand or in ten thousand miles ; and then will
be presented for the consideration of the Government the propriety
of completely organizing this new telegraphic system as apart of
the G-overnment, attaching it to some department already existing,
or creating a new one, which may be called for by the accumulating
duties of the present departments.

IMMENSE POWER OF THE TELEGRAPH. 339

" It is obvious, at the slightest glance, that this mode of instan
taneous communication must inevitably become an instrument of
immense power, to be wielded for good or for evil, as it shall be
properly or improperly directed. In the hands of a company of
speculators, who should monopolize it for themselves, it might be
the means of enriching the corporation at the expense of the bank
ruptcy of thousands ; and even in the hands of Government alone,
it might become a means of working vast mischief to the republic.
In considering these prospective evils, I would respectfully suggest
a remedy which offers itself to my mind. Let the sole right of
using the Telegraph belong, in the first place, to the Government,
who should grant, for a specified sum or bonus, to any individual
or company of individuals who may apply for it, and under such
restrictions and regulations as the Government may think proper,
the right to lay down a communication between any two points,
for the purpose of transmitting intelligence; and thus would
be promoted a general competition. The Government would have
a Telegraph of its own, and have its modes of communicating with
its own officers and agents independent of private permission, or
interference with and interruption to the ordinary transmissions on
the private telegraphs. Thus there would be a system of checks
and preventives of abuse, operating to restrain the action of this
otherwise dangerous power, within those bounds which will per
mit only the good and neutralize the evil. Should the Government
thus take the Telegraph solely under its own control, the revenue
derived from the bonuses alone, it must be plain, will be of vast
amount.

"From the enterprising character of our countrymen, shown
in the manner in which they carry forward any new project
which promises private or public advantage, it is not visionary to
suppose that it would not be long ere the whole surface of this
country would be channeled for those nerves which are to diffuse,
with the speed of thought, a knowledge of all that is occurring
throughout the land; making, in fact, one neighborhood of the
whole country.

" If the Government is disposed to test this mode of telegraphic
communication by enabling me to give it a fair trial for one hundred
miles, I will engage to enter into no arrangement to dispose of my
rights, as the inventor and patentee for the United States, to any in
dividual or company of individuals, previous to offering it to the
Government for such a just and reasonable compensation as shall be

340 LIFE OF SAMUEL B. F. MORSE.

mutually agreed upon. I remain, sir, respectfully, your most obe
dient servant,

" SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" To the Hon. F. 0. J. SMITH, Chairman of the Committee on Commerce of the
House of Representatives."

And again lie wrote :

S. F. B. Morse to Hon. F. 0. J. Smith.

"WASHINGTON, February 22, 1838.

" DEAR SIR : I have endeavored to approach a proper estimate
of the expense attendant on preparing a complete telegraphic com
munication for some distance ; and, taking into consideration the
possibility that the experiment may be conclusively tried before the
close of the present session of Congress, I have thought that an
appropriation for fifty miles of distance would test the practicability
of the Telegraph quite as satisfactorily as one hundred, because the
obstacles necessary to be overcome would not be more proportion
ally in fifty than in one hundred; while at the same time the
double circuit necessary in the fifty miles would give a single circuit
of one hundred for the purpose of testing the effect of distance upon
the passage of electricity. Fifty miles would require a less amount
of appropriation, and the experiment could also be sooner brought
to a result :

Two hundred miles of wire, or wire for two circuits for fifty miles of dis
tance, including the covering of the wire with cotton, at $100 per
mile $20,000

Other expenses of preparation of the wire, such as caoutchouc, wax, resin,

tar, with reels for winding, soldering, etc., say $6 per mile . 1,200

Batteries and registers, with type, etc., for two stations, and materials

for experimenting on the best modes of magnets at long distances . 800

Services of Professor Gale in the chemical department ; services of Mr.
Alfred Yail in the mechanical department ; services of assistants in
different departments ; my own services in superintending and di
recting the whole — total . . 4,000

Total i $26,000

" This estimate is exclusive of expense necessary to lay down
the wire beneath the ground. This is unnecessary until the. pre
vious preparations are found satisfactory. I cannot say what time
will be required for the completion of the circuits for fifty miles.

1 This line could now be constructed for less than half the sum.

FAVORABLE REPORT IN CONGRESS. 341

If the order could be immediately given for the wire, I think all
the other matter connected with it might be completed so that
every thing could be in readiness in three months. Much will
depend on the punctuality with which contractors fulfill their en
gagements in furnishing the wire and other apparatus. I remain,
sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

"SAMUEL F. B. MOKSE.
" To the Hon. F. 0. J. SMITH, Chairman of the Committee on Commerce."

Professor Morse now submitted to Congress a respectful
memorial, asking an appropriation to defray the expense of
subjecting the Telegraph to actual experiment over a length
sufficient to establish its feasibility, and demonstrate its value.
This petition, its substance being embraced in the foregoing
letters to the Hon F. O. J. Smith, was referred to the Com
mittee on Commerce. On the 6th of April, 1838, Mr. Smith
made the following

REPORT.

On the 3d of February, 1837, the House of Representatives
passed a resolution requesting the Secretary of the Treasury to re
port to the House, at its present session, upon the propriety of
establishing a system of telegraphs for the United States. In pur
suance of this request, the Secretary of the Treasury, at an early
day after the passage of said resolution, addressed a circular of in
quiry to numerous scientific and practical individuals in different
parts of the Union ; and, on the 6th of December last, reported the
result of this proceeding to the House. This report of the Secre
tary embodies many useful suggestions on the necessity and practi
cability of a system of telegraphic dispatches, both for public and
individual purposes; and the committee cannot doubt that the
American public is fully prepared, and even desirous, that every
requisite effort be made on the part of Congress to consummate an
object of so deep interest to the purposes of Government in peace
and in war, and to the enterprise of the age. Amid the sugges
tions thus elicited from various sources, and embodied in the before-
mentioned report of the Secretary of the Treasury, a plan for an
electro-magnetic telegraph is communicated by Professor Morse, of
the University of the City of New York, preeminently interesting,
and even wonderful.

This invention consists in the application, by mechanism, of

342 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

galvanic electricity to telegraphic purposes, and is claimed by Pro
fessor Morse and his associates as original with them ; and being
so, in fact, as the committee believe, letters-patent have been se
cured under the authority of the United States for the invention.
It has, moreover, been subjected to the test of experiment, upon a
scale of ten miles' distance, by a select committee of the Franklin
Institute of the city of Philadelphia, and reported upon by that
eminently high tribunal in the most favorable and confident terms.
An extract from the report thus made is hereunto annexed.

In additional confirmation of the merits of his proposed system of
telegraphs, Professor Morse has exhibited it in operation (by a coil
of metallic wire measuring about ten miles in length, rendering the
action equal to a telegraph of half that distance) to the Committee on
Commerce of the House of Representatives, to the President of the
United States, and the several heads of departments, to members
of Congress generally, who have taken interest in the examination,
and to a vast number of scientific and practical individuals from
various parts of the Union ; and all concur, it is believed, and with
out a dissenting doubt, in admiration of the ingenious and scientific
character of the invention, and in the opinion that it is successfully
adapted to the purposes of telegraphic dispatches, and in a convic
tion of its great and incalculable practical importance and useful
ness to the country, and ultimately to the whole world. But it
would be presumptuous in any one (and the inventor himself is
most sensible of this) to attempt, at this stage of the invention, to
calculate in anticipation, or to hold out promises of what its whole
extent of capacity for usefulness may be, in either a political, com
mercial, or social point of view, if the electrical power upon which
it depends for successful action shall prove to be efficient, as is now
supposed it will, to carry intelligence through any of the distances
of fifty, one hundred, five hundred, or more miles, now contemplated.
No such attempt, therefore, will be indulged in this report. It is
obvious, however, that the influence of this invention over the
political, commercial, and social relations of the people of this
widely-extended country, looking to nothing beyond, will, in the
event of success, of itself amount to a revolution unsurpassed in
moral grandeur by any discovery that has been made in the arts
and sciences, from the most distant period to which authentic history
extends to the present day. With the means of almost instantane
ous communication of intelligence between the most distant points
of the country, and simultaneously between any given number of

GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE THE OWNER. 343

intermediate points which this invention contemplates, space will
be, to all practical purposes of information, completely annihilated
between the States of the Union, as also between the individual
citizens thereof. The citizen will be invested with, and reduce to
daily and familiar use, an approach to the HIGH ATTRIBUTE OF
UBIQUITY, in a degree that the human mind, until recently, has
hardly dared to contemplate seriously as belonging to human
agency, from an instinctive feeling of religious reverence and re
serve on a power of such awful grandeur.

Referring to the annexed report of the Franklin Institute, al
ready adverted to, and also to the letters of Professor Morse,
marked two, eight, and nine, for other details of the superiority of
this system of telegraphs over all other methods heretofore reduced
to practice by any individual or government, the committee agree,
unanimously, that it is worthy to engross the attention and means
of the Federal Government, to the full extent that may be neces
sary to put the invention to the most decisive test that can be de
sirable. The power of the invention, if successful, is so extensive
for good and for evil, that the Government alone should possess the
right to control and regulate it. The mode of proceeding to test it,
as suggested, as also the relations which the inventor and his asso
ciates are willing to recognize with the Government on the subject of
the future ownership, use, and control of the invention, are succinctly
set forth in the annexed letters of Professor Morse", marked eight and
nine. The probable outlay of an experiment upon a scale equal to
fifty miles of telegraph, and equal to a circuit of double that distance,
is estimated at thirty thousand dollars. Two-thirds of this expendi
ture will be for material which, whether the experiment shall suc
ceed or fail, will remain uninjured, and of very little diminished
value below the price that will be paid for it. The estimates of
Professor Morse, as will be seen by his letter marked nine, amount
to twenty-six thousand dollars ; but, to meet any contingency not
anticipated, and to guard against any want of requisite funds in an
enterprise of such moment to the Government, to the people, and
to the scientific world, the committee recommend an appropriation
of thirty thousand dollars, to be expended under the direction of
the Secretary of the Treasury ; and to this end submit herewith a
bill.

It is believed by the committee that the subject is one of such
universal interest and importance, that an early action upon it will
be deemed desirable by Congress, to enable the inventor to com-

344 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

plete his trial of the invention upon the extended scale contem
plated, in season to furnish Congress with a full report of the result
during its present session, if that shall be practicable.
All which is respectfully submitted:

FRANCIS O. J. SMITH, JAS. M. MASON,
S. C. PHILLIPS, JOHN T. H. WORTHINGTON,

SAMUEL CUSHMAN, WM. H. HUNTER,
JOHN I. DE GRAFF, GEORGE W. TOLAND,
EDWARD CURTIS,
Committee on Commerce, IT, S. H. JR.

At this stage of the work, Mr. Smith intimated to Mr.
Morse Ms willingness to take a pecuniary interest and responsi
bility in the enterprise. With commendable delicacy, it was
made a condition of such an arrangement that Mr. Smith should
obtain leave of absence from Congress, for the remainder of his
term then closing, and that he should not be a candidate for re
election. With this understanding, a partnership was formed
between Professor Morse, Professor Gale, Mr. Alfred Yail, and
Hon. F: O. J. Smith, by the terms of which it was stipulated
that Mr. Smith should go to Europe with Professor Morse and
secure patents for the telegraph in such countries as it should
be practicable for him to do so. The property in the invention
was divided into sixteen shares, of which Mr. Morse held nine,
Mr. Smith four, Mr. Yail two, and Professor Gale one. In the
patents to be obtained in foreign countries the proportions were
not the same : Professor Morse was to hold eight, Mr. Smith
five, Mr. Yail two, and Professor Gale one.

Professor Morse returned to ISTew York, and made arrange
ments necessary 'for his journey to Europe. It was important to
secure a patent for the great invention in foreign countries, and
every day's delay increased the difficulties of success. Mr. Yail
went to Speedwell to prepare an instrument which Professor
Morse would take with him to Europe. He wrote to Mr. Yail,
March 15th:

" Every thing looks encouraging, but I need not say to you that
in this world a continued course of prosperity is not a rational ex
pectation. We shall doubtless find troubles and difficulties in store
for us, and it is the part of true wisdom to be prepared for what
ever may await us. If our hearts are right, we shall not be taken

MR. VAIL'S GRATITUDE. 345

by surprise. I see nothing now but an unclouded prospect, for
which let us pay to Him who shows it us the homage of grateful
and obedient hearts, with most earnest prayers for grace to use
prosperity aright.

"The wire, and battery, and dictionary, have safely arrived, and
are now in the cabinet, where Professor Gale is preparing immedi
ately to institute some experiments important to the invention. As
soon as Mr. S. returns from the eastward I shall proceed with him
to Washington, arranging matters there in relation to the patent,
and then I am ready for Europe."

March 19th Mr. Vail replied : " I feel, Professor Morse, that if I
am ever worth any thing, it will be wholly attributable to your
kindness — I now should have no earthly prospect of happiness and
domestic bliss had it not been for what you have done, for which I
shall ever remember with the liveliest emotions of gratitude, whether
it is eventually successful or not. I can appreciate your reasonable
and appropriate remark that there is nothing certain in this life ;
that it is a world of care, anxiety, and trouble, and that our depend
ence must be placed upon a higher power than of earth.1

" I am, yours truly, ALFRED VAIL."

From the city of Washington, March 31st, Professor Morse wrote
to Mr. Vail : " I write you a hasty line to say, in the first place, that
I have overcome all difficulties in regard to a portrule, and have in
vented one which will be perfect. It is very simple, and will not
take much time or expense to make it. Mr. S. has incorporated it
into the specification for the patent. Please, therefore, not to pro-

1 These expressions of gratitude by Mr. Vail to Mr. Morse were honorable to Mr.
V., and Mr. Morse cherished to the day of his death a tender regard for his young
friend. At a banquet given to Mr. Morse more than thirty years after this letter was
written, Mr. Morse, then at the height of human glory, spoke of Mr. Tail in such
terms of grateful recognition as to call out the following note from a son of Mr.
Vail, who was not born when the letter above was written :

" NEW YOBK, June 13, 1871.

" RESPECTED SIR : Allow me, for myself, to thank you for the kind, generous
manner in which you alluded to my father's share in your early labors and struggles,
during the babyhood of the now giant Telegraph. I have always felt that you would
freely recognize and acknowledge his assistance, and it was therefore exceedingly
gratifying to me when, being absent when you spoke them, I read them in the pub
lished account of Saturday's evening meeting in your honor. Accept my many
wishes for your continued health and honor, and believe me,

" Yours, respectfully, J. CUMMINGS VAIL."

346 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

ceed with the type or portrule as now constructed. I will see you
on my return, and explain it in season for you to get one ready for
us. I find it a most arduous and tedious process to adjust the
specification; I have been engaged steadily for three days with Mr.
S., and have not yet got half through, but there is one consolation,
when done it will be well done. The drawings, I find on inquiry,
would cost you from forty to fifty dollars, if procured from the
draughtsman about the Patent-Office. I have therefore determined
to do them myself, and save you that sum."

During the few weeks spent in completing the instrument
to be taken to Europe, and preparing for an expedition which
promised the most important results, the fertile mind of Mr.
Morse was constantly devising improvements, removing diffi
culties, and making assurance doubly sure.

CHAPTEK IX.

1838-1839.

PEOFESSOE MOESE GOES TO ENGLAND — APPLICATION FOE PATENT — EEFUSAL
— SEASONS — FALSE STATEMENT OF AN OFFICIAL — GOES TO PAEIS— LET-
TEES TO HIS DAUGHTEE — DR. KIBK's EECOLLECTIONS — AEAGO — HIS GEEAT
KINDNESS — EXHIBITION BEFOEE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE — BAEON HUM-
BOLDT'S CONGEATULATIONS — EEPOET UPON IT — LETTEES TO FEIENDS —
HON. H. L. ELLSWOETH'S LETTEE — PATENT rsr FEANCE — COUNT MONTA-
LIYET — PROFESSOE MORSE'S LETTEES TO ME. SMITH — LOED LINCOLN'S AND
LOED ELGIN'S INTEEEST IN THE TELEGEAPH — PEOFESSOE MOESE GOES TO
LONDON EXHIBITS THE TELEGEAPH AT THE HOUSE OF LOED LINCOLN.

PKOFESSOK MOESE left on record a minute account of
his attempt and failure to procure a patent in England.

" On May 16. 1838, I left the United States and arrived in Lon
don in June, for the purpose of obtaining letters-patent for my
Electro-Magnetic Telegraph System. I learned before leaving the
United States that Professor Wheatstone and Mr. Cooke, of London,
had obtained letters-patent in England for a ' Magnetic-Needle
Telegraph] based, as the name implies, on the deflection of the
magnetic needle. Their telegraph at that time required six con
ductors between the two points of intercommunication for a single
instrument at each of the two termini. Their mode of indicating
signs for communicating intelligence was by deflecting five magnetic
needles in various directions in such a way as to point to the re
quired letter upon a diamond-shaped dial-plate. It was necessary
that the signal should be observed at the instant, or it was lost, and
vanished forever.

" I applied for letters-patent for my system of communicating
intelligence at a distance by electricity, differing in all respects from

348 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Messrs. Wheatstone and Cooke's system, invented five years before
theirs, and having nothing in common in the whole system but the
use of electricity on metallic conductors, for which use no one could
obtain an exclusive privilege, since this much had been used for
nearly one hundred years. My system is peculiar in the employ
ment of electro-magnetism, or the motive power of electricity, to
imprint permanent signs at a distance. I made no use of the deflec
tions of the magnetic needle assigns. I required but one conductor
between the two termini, or any number of intermediate points of
intercommunication. I used paper moved by clock-work, upon
which I caused a lever moved by magnetism to imprint the letters and
words of any required dispatch, having also invented and adapted
to telegraph writing a new and peculiar alphabetic character for
that purpose ; a conventional alphabet, easily acquired, and easily
made, and used by the operator. It is obvious, at once, from a
simple statement of these facts, that the system of Messrs. Wheat-
stone and Cooke, and my system, were wholly unlike each other.
As I have just observed, there was nothing in common in the two
systems but the use of electricity upon metallic conductors, for
which no one could obtain an exclusive privilege.

" The various steps required by the English law were taken by
me to procure a patent for my mode, and the fees were paid at the
Clerk's office, June 22d, and at the Home Department, June 25,
1838 ; also June 26th, caveats were entered at the Attorney and
Solicitor General's — and I had reached that part of the process
which required the sanction of the Attorney-General. At this point
I met the opposition of Messrs. Wheatstone and Cooke, and also of
Mr. Davy, and a hearing was ordered before the Attorney-General,
Sir John Campbell, on July 12, 1838. I attended at the Attorney-
General's residence on the morning of that day, carrying with me
my telegraphic apparatus, for the purpose of explaining to him the
total dissimilarity between my system and those of my opponents.
But, contrary to my expectation, the similarity or dissimilarity of
my mode from that of my opponents was not considered by the
Attorney-General. He neither examined my instrument, which I
had brought for that purpose, nor did he ask any questions bearing
upon its resemblance to my opponents' system. I was met by the
single declaration that my * invention had been published ',' and in
proof a copy of the London Mechanics* Magazine, No. 757, for
February 10, 1838, was produced, and I was told that ' in conse
quence of said publication I could not proceed.'

UNJUST DECISION. 349

" At this summary decision I was certainly surprised, being con
scious that there had been no such publication of my method as the
law required to invalidate a patent ; and, even if there had been, I
ventured to hint to the Attorney-General that, if J was rightly in
formed in regard to the. British law, it was the province of a court
and jury, and not of the Attorney-General, to try and to decide that
point. I conceived that if I had merely offered a substantially
different mode of doing the same thing, this, according to British
law, was sufficient to entitle me to a patent for MY MODE ; but if,
after having obtained a patent, my opponents could prove before a
court and jury that my mode had been previously published, then
it was for that court and jury to declare my patent void. I there
fore considered myself unjustly dealt with by the Attorney-Gen
eral, who, it appeared to me, had stepped out of the sphere of his
proper duties, assuming the power of a court and jury, to forbid me
to proceed.

" Unwilling to yield to such manifest injustice, without attempt
ing to correct what might possibly have arisen from some misap
prehension, I, immediately on my return to my lodgings, with the
assistance of a legal friend, F. O. J. Smith, Esq., drew up and sent
a letter to the Attorney-General, iu which I requested a review of
his decision, stating the essential differences between my system
and that of my opponents, and concluding in these terms :

" * I forbear to advert to other differences, now clear to my own
mind, through fear of too far intruding upon your valuable time
and patience. I will at once proceed to obviate the grand objection
which I understand to have been regarded as in my way, viz. :

"c While it is conceded that all my claim rightly attaches to
myself by priority of invention, the publicity that has been given
it (it is contended) divests me of the legal right to an exclusive
property in it. Here, will the Hon. Attorney-General indulge me
in the inquiry—

u ' 1. What is the nature of the publication that can operate
thus to deprive an inventor of his right to a patent ?

" * 2. What is the nature of the publication in the present case
that stands in the way ?

" ' May I not presume the English law to be what the American
law is, and what the French law is, in principle^ upon the subject
of publication ? A publication of results — even a minute published
description of mere results produced by an invention — cannot in
validate a posterior patent in either of those countries, if the means,

350 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

the modus operandi producing those results, are not described ii
the publication to an extent that a clever workman would be ei
abled .to make the same means and to produce the same results.

" * Suppose it were published that I had invented a gun thai
would shoot accurately at right angles, beyond any given point
surely, this would not prejudice my claim to a patent subsequently.
Suppose I exhibited in the market-place the gun actually made, am
vet no one, from such exhibition, could understand its structure, il
is respectfully submitted that even such a publication both of means
and results could not invalidate my patent subsequently obtained,
because the publication did not convey information up to the point
that could enable any person to make use of my invention. Sue!
I would with great deference presume to be the rationale of th<
law of England. And, if in the foregoing construction T am corn
the question recurs, What is the nature of the publication in nr
case?

" ' I send you all that has come within my knowledge as published
in this country, all that has been presented to the Hon. Attorney-
General as published (see Mechanic's Magazine, page 332). Will
the Hon. Attorney-General be good enough to analyze this docu
ment with me, and compare it even with all the information the
opposing claimants in my case possess relative to my invention up
to this date ?

" ' The magazine article describes :

" ' 1. The fact that my invention is reduced " to the use of one
wire" one circuit only.

" c I believe it will not be contended in any quarter that I am not
the first inventor of this reduction of an Electric Telegraph to a
single circuit. But this is only publishing a result, not the mode in
which it is produced. It furnishes no description of the mechanism
which I employ, and which enables me successfully to dispense with
all wires except one. It would not suggest any mode as my mode
of accomplishing this, to any mind. And yet, it might suggest to
many minds many modes of doing it, and some one of them might
or might not resemble mine ; and the several inventors would each
be entitled to a patent for their respective modes.

* 2. The publication discloses the fact that my invention con
tains a register which permanently records, and in characters easily
legible, the fullest communication, etc. But this is only a state
ment of a result. It is no description of the means of recording,
or the manner in which my means of recording operate in produc-

NO SUFFICIENT PUBLICATION. 351

ing the result. It is as indefinite a description of means as it
would be to say, " A has invented a gun which will shoot accurate
ly at right angles."

" ' 3. The publication discloses a specimen of the writing pro
duced by my invention, and an explanation of what the characters
thus produced indicate by aid of a dictionary. But the how — by
what description of mechanism, or by what sort of type or pen,
pencil, or marking instruments, this specimen of characters was pro
duced, is not described, nor published, nor explained. No reader learns
this from the publication here exhibited. He learns from it how
to read the characters — what they mean — how they connect them
selves with a dictionary — but he is no wiser from it as to the mode
producing these characters ; and with this ends all the description
of either means or results which the publication contains.

" ' I respectfully submit to the Attorney-General, whether such
a publication of results is to be construed into a description of
means, or can bring my invention within the meaning of the principle
of law heretofore adverted to, invalidating in the slightest degree
my claim to a patent.

" c But, further : If it were even admitted that such publicity has
been given to portions of my invention as to preclude me from a
valid patent for those portions, it will not surely be contended that
I am thereby precluded from a patent for the undisclosed and un
published portions, which I take at my risk. For such portions I
desire a patient.

" ' In conclusion, allow me to remark that I am quite persuaded
that no configuration of the type I use, or of the mechanism by
which I bring them into use, has ever to this day come to the
knowledge of my opposing claimants : and that they cannot de
scribe any of these particulars of my invention to the Hon. At
torney-General, upon his request, nor even inform him whether I do
or do not employ the magnetic needle in the invention, nor how the
type make their impression on the paper. And if, with all the as
sumed publicity of my invention before them, they cannot do this
much with accuracy and promptness, I feel confident the Hon. At
torney-General will dismiss all doubt as to the injustice that would
be done to me, and to my representatives and estate, by withhold
ing from me the patent for which I have petitioned.

" c I have written at more length than I intended, but I wish
my case to be clearly understood, and in a shape not to be misun
derstood. If I have presumed too much in this, I hope to find an

352 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

apology in the importance, to myself and others associated with me,
of the result of much anxious labor, and much expense incurred in
years of devotedness to this invention.

" ' With high consideration, I have the honor to be your obe
dient servant, (Signed)

" ' LONDON, 14 BEDFORD PLACE, ) S. F. B. MoESE.

July 12, 1838.' )

" In consequence of my request in this letter, I was allowed a
second hearing. I attended accordingly ; but, to my chagrin, the
Attorney-General remarked that he had not had time to examine
the letter. He carelessly took it up, and turned over the leaves
without reading it, and then asked me if I had not taken measures
for a patent in my own country. And, upon my reply in the
affirmative, he remarked that 'America was a large country, and I
ought to be satisfied with a patent there.' I replied that, with all
due deference, I did not consider that as a point submitted for the
Attorney-General's decision ; that the question submitted was,
whether there was any legal obstacle in the way of my obtaining
letters-patent for my Telegraph in England. He observed that
he considered my invention as having been published^ and that he
must therefore forbid me to proceed.

" Thus forbidden to proceed by an authority from which there
was no appeal, as I afterward learned, but to Parliament, and
this at great cost of time and money, I immediately left England
for France, where I found no difficulty in securing a patent. My
invention there not only attracted the regards of the distinguished
savants of Paris, but in a marked degree the admiration of many of
the English nobility and gentry at that time in the French capital.
To several of these, while explaining the operation of my tele
graphic system, I related the history of my treatment by the Eng
lish Attorney-General. The celebrated Earl of Elgin took a deep
interest in the matter, and was intent on my obtaining a special act
of Parliament to secure to me my just rights as the inventor of the
Electro-Magnetic Telegraph. He repeatedly visited me, bringing
with him many of his distinguished friends, and among them on
one occasion the noble Earl of Lincoln, since one of her Majesty's
Privy Council. The Hon. Henry Drummond also interested him
self for me, and, through his kindness and Lord Elgin's, 1 received
letters of introduction to Lord Brougham and to the Marquis of
Northampton!, the President of the Royal Society, and several

RUSSIAN NEGOTIATIONS. 353

other distinguished persons in England. The Earl of Lincoln
showed me special kindness ; in taking leave of me in Paris, he
gave me his card, and, requesting me to bring my telegraphic instru
ments with me to London, pressed me to give him the earliest no
tice of my arrival in London.

" I must here say that for weeks in Paris I had been engaged in
negotiation with the Russian Counselor of State, the Baron Alex
ander de Meyendorff, arranging measures for putting the telegraph
in operation in Russia. The terms of a contract had been mutually
agreed upon, and all was concluded but the signature of the emper
or to legalize it. In order to take advantage of the ensuing sum
mer season for my operations in Russia, I determined to proceed
immediatel}7 to the United States to make some necessary prepara
tions for the enterprise, without waiting for the formal completion
of the contract papers, being led to believe that the signature of the
emperor was sure, a matter of mere form. Under these circum
stances, I left Paris on the 13th of March, 1839, and arrived in Lon
don on the 15th of the same month. The next day, I sent my card
to the Earl of Lincoln and my letter and card to the Marquis of
Northampton, and in two or three hours received a visit from both.
By Earl Lincoln, I was at once invited to send my Telegraph to his
house in Park Lane, and on the 19th of March I exhibited its
operation to members of both Houses of Parliament, of the Royal
Society, and the Lords of the Admiralty, invited to meet me by
the Earl of Lincoln. From the circumstances mentioned, my time
in London was necessarily short, my passage having been secured
in the Great Western, to sail on the 23d of March. Although so
licited to remain a while in London, both by the Earl of Lincoln
and the Hon. Henry Drummond, with a view to obtaining a special
act of Parliament for a patent, I was compelled by the circum
stances of the case to defer, till some more favorable opportunity,
on my expected return to England, any attempt of the kind. The
Emperor of Russia, however, refused to ratify the contract made
with me by his Counselor of State, and my design of returning to
Europe was frustrated ; and I have not to this hour had the means
to prosecute this enterprise to a result in England. All my exer
tions were needed to establish my telegraphic system in my own
country.

" Time has shown conclusively the essential difference of my
telegraphic system from those of my opponents; time has also
shown that my system was not published in England, as alleged by
23

354 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

the Attorney-General; for, to this day, no work in England has
published any thing that does not show that, as yet, it is perfectly
misunderstood. Professor Wheat stone has even pronounced lately
(within three years), in Paris, my system USELESS and IMPRACTI
CABLE, or words to that effect, as I learn from the highest authority.
Surely, after the results before the world of the practical operation
of my system for so long a time, and over hundreds of miles of
country (in 1846), furnishing daily to the press, in cities five or six
hundred miles apart, whole columns of news simultaneously, Pro
fessor Wheatstone could not have understood my system, and thus
risk his reputation as a man of science by such a hasty opinion. If
my system had been published in England, Professor Wheatstone's
sagacity would certainly have comprehended its superior simplicity
and efficiency, and he never would have hazarded such a remark.
I consider this fact conclusive on the point of publication. But, as
this was the ground, the sole ground, of not allowing me to proceed
in taking out letters patent, I will not leave the settlement of the
question to inference; I will show that there was not even the
shadow of a publication, in the legal sense of the term. The sole
document upon which my opponents rested to prove a publication,
is that referred to in the Mechanic's Magazine, page 332. 1 Let any
one read that paper, and see whether my invention is there any
where described. It is there stated that l five years before ' (in
1832), CI had invented an Electric Telegraph;' that 'the distin
guishing features of my telegraph' are a register which permanent
ly records in characters easily legible the fullest communication,
and the use of but one wire as a conductor ; it speaks of ' points or
marks ' to be read, and of ' a pencil ' that marks. It will scarcely
be believed, and yet it is true, that this is all the description or pub-
lication of my invention at that time made in England, or shown
by my opponents ; and yet, on such a pretended publication as
this, was I forbidden to proceed to obtain letters patent.

" At that time, I had with me drawings of an instrument called
the receiving magnet, constructed and put in operation in the
spring of 1837, connected with a relay or local battery, a provision
against the reduction of the magnetic power of the main battery as
the length of the conductor increased. By means of a local battery
and local magnet, any quantity of power could be obtained, accord
ing to the size of said local magnet or local battery.

1 This article in the Mechanic's Magazine to which I refer, was copied without
alteration from Sitlimari's Journal of Science of October, 1837.

REFUSED A PATENT IN ENGLAND. 355

" The receiving magnet was a provision devised for an exigen
cy which at that time I conceived only to be possible, but was to
be used and would be effective in case the exigency occurred. This
instrument was unnecessary in any of the then attempted systems
of Electric Telegraphs,'nor was it then necessary, nor is it now. ne
cessary, in the exhibition of my main instrument called the regis
ter, while confined to a few miles of conductors. But it is essential
to the efficiency of my system when a circuit connects two points
a great distance from each other. Although devised as long ago
as 1836, and constructed in the spring of 1837, while provid
ing against a possible exigency, it was not necessary to bring it
into actual practical use till the first lipe of conductors for my
Telegraph was prepared. This exigency occurred in trying the
power of the register magnet through a circuit of one hundred and
sixty miles of wire. The magnetism even from a powerful battery
was found to be too feeble for .the purpose of directly marking me
chanically my characters, but the application of the receiving magnet
which had been prepared, in reserve, and was at hand, effectually
and immediately relieved the difficulty.

" Now, under what pretence of justice was I denied a patent for
this receiving magnet ? It was secured to me in France but a few
weeks after the rejection of my application in England.

" This is the statement of the case. The refusal to grant me a pat
ent was at that period very disastrous. It was especially discourag
ing to have made a long voyage across the Atlantic in vain, incur
ring great expenditure, and loss of time, which in their consequence
also produced years of delay in the prosecution of my enterprise in
the United States.

"SAMUEL F. B. MOESE.

"NEW YORK, April 2, 1847."

" At the time of preparing this statement, I lacked one item of
evidence which it was desirable to have, aside from my own asser
tion, viz., evidence that the refusal of the Attorney-General was on
the ground * that a publication of the invention had been made?—
I deemed it advisable rather to suffer from the delay, and endure
the taunts which my unscrupulous opponents have not been slow to
lavish upon me in consequence, if I could but obtain this evidence
in proper shape. I accordingly wrote to my brother, then in Lon
don, to procure, if possible, from Lord Campbell or his secretary, an
acknowledgment of the ground on which he refused my application
for a patent in 1838, since no public report or record in such cases

356

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

is made. My brother, in connection with Mr. Carpmael, one of the
most distinguished patent agents in England, addressed a note to
Mr. H. Cooper, the Attorney-General's secretary at the time, and
the only official person besides Lord Campbell connected with the
matter. The following is Mr. Cooper's reply :

" 'WILMINGTON SQUAKE, May 23, 1843.

" ' GENTLEMEN : In answer to yours of the 20th inst., I beg to
state that I have a distinct recollection of Professor Morse's applica
tion for a patent, strengthened by the fact of his not having paid
the fees for the hearing \ etc., and their being now owing. I under
stood at the time that the patent was stopped on the ground that
a publication of the invention had been made,but I cannot procure
Lord Campbell's certificate of that fact.

" ' I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant,

"<H. COOPER.'

" I thus have obtained the evidence I desired in the most au
thentic form, but accompanied with as gross an insult as could well
be conceived. On the receipt of this letter, I immediately wrote
to F. O. J. Smith, Esq., at Portland, who accompanied me to Eng
land, and at whose sole expense, according to agreement, all pro
ceedings in taking out patents in Europe were to be borne, to know
if this charge of the Attorney-General's secretary could possibly be
true, not knowing but, through some inadvertence on his (Mr.
Smith's) part, this bill might have been overlooked. Mr. Smith
writes me in answer, sending me a copy verbatim of the follow
ing receipt, which he holds and which speaks for itself :

" ' Mr. Morse to the Attorney-General, Dr.

Hearing on a patent
Giving notice on the same,

£ s. d.
'...3 10 0

same

1 10

Lugust, 1838.
(Signed

£4 11 0
[) H. COOPER.'

" This receipt is signed, as will be perceived, by the same indi
vidual H. Cooper, who, nearly ten years after his acknowledgment
of the money, has the impudence to charge me with leaving my fees
unpaid. I now leave the public to make their own comments both
on the character of the whole transaction in England, and on the
character and motives of those in this country who have espoused

CORONATION OF THE QUEEN. 357

Lord Campbell's course, making it an occasion to charge me with
having i invented nothing?

"SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" POUGHKEEPSIE, December 11, 1848."

This refusal of a patent in England is a fact of such great
importance in the history of Telegraphs, that the letters referred
to from Mr. Smith and Mr. Sidney E. Morse, showing clearly
the gross wrong that was done, are carefully preserved to sub
stantiate the statements made by Professor Morse.

June 19, 1838, Professor Morse wrote to his daughter, Mrs.
Lind : " London is filling fast with crowds of all characters, from
ambassadors and princes to pickpockets and beggars, all brought
together by the coronation of the queen, which takes place in a few
days (the 28th of June). Every thing in London now is colored by
the coming pageant. In the shop-windows are the robes of the
nobility, the crimson and ermine, dresses, coronets, etc. Prepara
tions for illuminations are making all over the city.

" I have scarcely entered upon the business of the Telegraph,
but have examined (tell Dr. Gale) the specification of Wheatstone
at the Patent-Office, and, except the alarum part, he has nothing
which interferes with mine. His invention is ingenious and beauti
ful, but very complicated, and he must use twelve wires where I
use but four. I have seen also a Telegraph exhibiting at Exeter
Hall, invented by Davy, something like Wheatstone's, but still
complicated. I find mine is yet the simplest, and hope to accom
plish something, but always keep myself prepared for disappoint
ment. Your affectionate father,

" SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE."

While attending the ceremonies of the coronation, to which
Professor Morse was invited by the courtesy of the American
Minister, the Hon. Andrew Stevenson, he learned a pleasing in
cident illustrating the beautiful character of the maiden queen.
He related it in these words :

" I was in London in 1838, and was present with my excellent
friend the late Charles R. Leslie, R. A., at the imposing ceremonies
of the coronation of the queen in -Westminster Abbey. He then
related to me the following incident, which I think may truly be
said to have been the first act of her Majesty's reign : When her
predecessor, William IV., died, a messenger was immediately dis-

358 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

patched by his queen (then become by his death queen-dowager)
to Victoria, apprising her of the event. She immediately called
for paper, and indicted a letter of condolence to the widow. Fold
ing it, she directed it ' To the Queen of England.' Her maid of
honor in attendance, noticing the inscription, said, 4 Your Majesty,
you are Queen of England.' ' Yes,' she replied, * but the wid
owed queen is not to be reminded of that fact first by me.' "

Although the exhibition of the Telegraph must have carried
conviction to the minds of all who saw its actual operation, the
inventor gained nothing by remaining in London. He deter
mined to " seek his fortune " in Paris. Writing to his daugh
ter on his way thither, he says :

"HAVRE, IN FRANCE, July 26, 1838.

" After having been delayed seven weeks in England, endeav
oring to obtain a patent, and having had two hearings before the
Attorney-General, he decided against us, and (as we can make to
appear) most unjustly. The ground of objection was not that my
invention was not original, and better than others, but that it had
been .published in England from the American journals, and there
fore belonged to the public. The whole matter will be laid before
the world in due time, and, so far as most gross injustice is charged
on his decision, the charge will be made out. We have, however,
by this act of the Attorney-General, been shut out from any expecta
tion of pecuniary advantage in Great Britain, and yet the history
of the whole transaction clearly proves me the original inventor of
the first practicable and the simplest Electric Telegraph, and I am
persuaded that eventually the English themselves will do me that
justice. Professor Wheatstone arid Mr. Davy were my opposers.
They have each very ingenious inventions of their own, particu
larly the former, who is a man of genius, and one with whom I was
personally much pleased ; he has invented his, I believe, without
knowing that I was engaged in an invention to produce a similar
result, for, although he dates back into 1832, yet, as no publication
of our thoughts was made by either, we are evidently independent
of each other. My time has not been lost, however, for I have
ascertained with certainty that the Telegraph of a single circuit
and a recording apparatus is mine, and I learned from the Attorney-
General that Professor Steinheil, of Munich, who has invented his,
of a single circuit, subsequent to mine, has, as he observed, ' with
out doubt taken it from mine.' I found, also, that both Mr. Wheat-

PATENT IN FRANCE. 359

stone and Mr. Davy were endeavoring to simplify theirs by adding
a recording apparatus and reducing theirs to a single circuit. The
latter showed to the Attorney-General a drawing, which I obtained
sight of, of a method by which he proposed a bungling imitation
of my first characters, those that were printed in our journals, and
one, however plausible on paper, and sufficiently so to deceive the
Attorney-General, was perfectly impracticable. Partiality, from na
tional or other motives, aside from the justice of the case, I am
persuaded, influenced the decision against me.

" We are now on our way to Paris, to try what we can do with
the French Government. I confess I am not sanguine as to any
favorable pecuniary result in Europe, but we shall try ; and at any
rate we have seen enough to know that the matter is viewed with
great interest here, and the plan of such telegraphs will be adopted,
and of course the United States is secured to us, and I do hope
something from them. Be economical, my dear child, and keep
your wants within bounds, for I am preparing myself for an unsuc
cessful result here, yet every proper effort will be made. I am in
excellent health and spirits, and leave to-morrow morning for
Paris."

"PARIS, August 29, 1838.

" I have obtained a patent here, and it is exciting some atten
tion. The prospects of future benefit from the invention are good,
but I shall not probably realize much or even any thing imme
diately. I saw by the papers, before I got your letter, that Con
gress had not passed the appropriation bill for the Telegraph ; on
some accounts I regret it, but it is only delayed, and it will proba
bly be passed early in the winter. You will be glad to learn, my
dear daughter, that your father's health was never so good, and,
probably before this reaches you, he will be on the ocean on his re
turn. I think of leaving Paris in a very few days. I am only
waiting to show the Telegraph to the king, from whom I expect a
message hourly. The birth of a prince occupies the whole atten
tion just now of the royal family and the court ; he was born on
the 24th inst., the son of the Duke and Duchess of Orleans. My
rooms are as delightfully situated, perhaps, as any in Paris ; they
are close to the palace of the Tuileries, and overlook the gardens,
and are within half a stone's-throw of the rooms of the Duke and
Duchess of Orleans. From my balcony I look directly into their
rooms. I saw the company that were there assembled on the birth
day of the little prince, and saw him in his nurse's arms at the win-

360

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

do\v the next day after his birth. He looked very much like any
other baby, and not half so handsome as little Hugh Peters. I re
ceived from the Minister of War, General Bernard, who has been
very polite to me, a ticket to be present at the Te Deum performed
yesterday in the great cathedral of Paris, Notre-Dame, on account
of the birth of the prince. The king and all the royal family and
the court, with all the officers of state, were present. The cathe
dral was crowded with all the fashion of Paris. Along the ways,
and around the church, were soldiers without number, almost — a
proof that some danger was apprehended to the king ; and yet he
ought to be popular, for he is the best ruler they have had for
years. The ceremonies were imposing, appealing to the senses
and the imagination, and not at all to the reason or the heart."

" PARIS, September 29, 1838.

" Since my last, matters have assumed a totally different aspect.
At the request of Monsieur Arago, the most distinguished astrono
mer of the day, I submitted the Telegraph to the Institute at one
of their meetings, at which some of the most celebrated philoso
phers of Prance and of Germany, and of other countries, were pres
ent. Its reception was in the highest degree nattering, and the
interest which they manifested, by the questions they asked, and
the exclamations they used, showed to me then that the invention
had obtained their favorable regard. The papers of Paris immedi
ately announced the Telegraph in the most favorable terms, and it
has literally been the topic of the day ever since. The Baron Hum-
boldt, the celebrated traveler, a member of the Institute, and who
saw its operation before that body, told Mr. Wheaton, our Minister
to Prussia, that my Telegraph was the best of all the plans that
had been devised. I received a call from the administrator-in-chief
of all the Telegraphs of France, Monsieur Alphonse Foy; I ex
plained it to him. He was highly delighted with it, and told me
that the Government were about to try an experiment with the
view of testing the practicability of the Electric Telegraph, and
that he had been requested to see mine and to report upon it ;
that he should report that ' mine was the best that had been sub
mitted to him? and he added that I had better forthwith get an
introduction to the Minister of the Interior, Monsieur the Count
Montalivet; I procured a letter from our Minister, and am now
waiting the decision of the Government. Every thing looks prom
ising thus far, as much so as I could expect ; but it involves the
possibility not to say the probability of my remaining in Paris

LETTER TO A DAUGHTER. 361

during the winter. If I should be delayed till December, it would
be prudent to remain until April. If it be possible without detri
ment to my affairs to make such arrangements that I may return
this autumn, I shall certainly do it ; but, if I should not, you must
console yourselves that it is in consequence of meeting with suc
cess that I am detained, and that I shall be more likely to return
with advantage to you all, on account of the delay. I ought to say
that the directors of the St. Germain Railroad have seen my Tele
graph, and that there is some talk (as yet vague) of establishing a
line of my Telegraph upon that road. I mention these, my dear
child, to show you that I cannot at this moment leave Paris with
out detriment to my principal object."

" PARIS, October 10, 1838.

" MY DEAR DAUGHTER : You are at. an age when a parent's
care, and particularly a mother's care, is most needed. You
cannot know the depth of the wound that was inflicted when
I was deprived of your dear mother, nor in how many ways that
wound has been kept open. Yet I know it is all well ; I look to
God to take care of you ; it is his will that you should be almost
truly an orphan, for, with all my efforts to have a home for you
and to be near you, I have met hitherto only with disappoint
ment. But there are now indications of a change, and, while I pre
pare for disappointment and wish you to prepare for disappoint
ment, we ought to acknowledge the kind hand of our heavenly
Father, in so far prospering me as to put me in the honorable light
before the world which is now my lot. With this eminence is con
nected the prospect of pecuniary prosperity, yet this is not con
summated, but only in prospect ; it may be a long time before any
thing is realized. Study, therefore, prudence and economy in all
things ; make your wants as few as possible, for the habit thus ac
quired will be of advantage to you, whether you have much or
little."

The Rev. Dr. Kirk, who died in Boston, March 27, 1874, was
residing in Paris at the time of Professor Morse's visit, and the
two gentlemen, being old friends, took apartments in common
for the sake of economy. Dr. Kirk, in a letter written in 1851,
alludes to the Telegraph and its inventor :

" On my return to Paris, in the autumn of 1838, I met your
brother, and we took rooms at the Hotel No. 9 Rue Neuve des

362 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Mathurins. Our apartments consisted of a parlor, a bedchamber,
and an intervening passage. He put up a table in the bedroom,
and placed his galvanic battery upon it. The wires were extended
through the passage into the parlor, where the writing apparatus
was set up. I remember rallying my friend frequently about the
experience of great inventors, who are generally permitted to starve
when living, and are canonized after death.

" When the model telegraph had been set up in our rooms,
Mr. Morse desired to exhibit it to the savants of Paris. But, as he
had less of the talking propensity than myself, I was made the
grand exhibitor. Our levee-day was Tuesday, and for weeks we
received the visits of distinguished citizens and strangers, to whom
I explained the principles and operation of the Telegraph. The
visitors would agree upon a word among themselves, which I was
not to hear. Then the Professor would receive it at the writing end
of the wires ; while it devolved upon me to interpret the characters
which recorded it at the other end. As I explained the hiero
glyphics, the announcement of the word, which they saw could have
come to me only through the wire, would often create a deep sen
sation of delighted wonder. And much do I now regret that I did
not take notes of those interviews ; for it would, be an interesting
record of distinguished names, and of valuable remarks. As it is,
I must merely speak of what memory retains. And what is of
chief importance I do distinctly remember.

" 1. Men distinguished for their science as well as their social
position, and eminent literary men and women, were among the
interested spectators of the great invention. They were from Eng
land, Spain, Russia, Italy, and America, besides the Parisians and
other Frenchmen. I doubt not there were representatives from
other nations, because our rooms were full on each exhibition, but I
retain no definite recollections beyond what I state. Our own
countryman, Robert Walsh, Esq., gave the word ' Immortality,' to
be written by the Telegraph.

" 2. The impression left on my mind is complete, that, while a
few chemists or physicists were familiar with the two great laws
of the magnetic fluid which the Telegraph employs (I mean the in-
stantaneousness, or immeasurable rapidity of the current, when the
circuit is complete, and the power of making iron attractive), yet
I never heard a remark which indicated that the result obtained by
Mr. Morse was not NEW, wonderful, and promising immense prac
tical results."

ARAGO'S EXAMINATION. 353

On tlie 4th day of September, 1838, Professor Morse had the
honor and the intense satisfaction of meeting M. AKAGO, the
most eminent scientist in France, and of exhibiting to him in
private the operation of his Telegraph. Arago was the man
of all men then living to comprehend and appreciate the won
derful invention. He gave it a thorough examination, ques
tioned the inventor with great minuteness, and declared him
self satisfied with the results, and its capacity to do all that was
claimed for it. He instantly proposed to introduce it to the
Academy of Science, at their very next meeting, which was to
be held on the following Monday. The Telegraph had never
been subjected to such an inquisition as it would then undergo.
The diffident and anxious inventor prepared himself for the
trial with the greatest care. In one of his little note-books of
that day are written in a few hints which he jotted down to aid
him in the presentation of the case :

" My present instrument is very imperfect in its mechanism, and
is only designed to illustrate the principle of my invention. The
recording part — all in the box that holds the pen — is made strong
and clumsy, for the purpose of safety in traveling. It is all redu
cible to one-third of the compass here exhibited and without at all
impairing its efficiency. It may be made into an ornamental piece
of furniture, like a time-piece. My invention was matured by me
in 1832, though not announced until the spring of 1837. I have
indubitable proof from Mr. Rives, late Minister of the United States
to the French Government, as also from other persons of the date
of my discovery. My invention differs from that of all others of
more recent origin —

" 1. In that it requires but a single circuit of wire by which to
communicate all the letters of the alphabet, while the others require
several circuits.

" 2. In that I make no use of magnetic needles in conveying
intelligence, while the others rely upon numerous needles for that
purpose.

" 3. In that mine writes one or any desired copies, simultaneous
ly, of all intelligence sent by it, in permanent characters, while all
others carry only momentary signs by motion of needle or by sound,
and can furnish no duplicates of them.

" 4. Mine requires no attendance constantly at the place of de
livery of intelligence, to render the communications made available

3(54: LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

— while others can be operated only by having one or more persons
ready at all times to take down every sign transmitted at the time
and in the order of their transmission.

" 5. The whole of my invention is worked by mechanism, includ
ing type, thereby insuring regularity and precision ; others are
worked only by hand as an organ or piano is played.

" 6. By my invention I can communicate letters and words in
writing more rapidly than any other invention can communicate
signs which reach the eye alone.

" The expense of constructing my method of Telegraph, ready for
use, to and fro, over any given distance, will not exceed thirty -five
hundred francs per English mile — and the mechanism at each point
will not exceed fifteen hundred. The type will not exceed the ex
pense of one franc per pound. To regulate the passage of the type,
a small train of wheels, acted upon by a spring or weight, will be
•used instead of the hand-crank used for convenience of transporta
tion in the model now presented.

" A small apparatus also belongs to the register, but is not now
exhibited, by which the person transmitting intelligence from one
point can both set in motion and stop at pleasure the register or
recording pen, at any distant point, without the intervention of any
person there. This secures to a single individual entire control
over the Telegraph at each extremity. To the recording pen now
exhibited also belongs a reservoir, sufficiently large to supply the
the pen with ink for an indefinite period. My invention, I may add,
allows the intelligence sent on any single circuit of wire to be writ
ten at any number of intermediate places between any two distant
points, and simultaneously with its reception at the most distant
points. The other inventions require an entire set of wires for
every distinct point of communication."

The anxiously-anticipated day arrived, September 10, 1838.
Full of fears of his own ability to do justice to the work, and
knowing that he labored under the great disadvantage of speak
ing through an interpreter, his heart was ready to fail him.
He was invited by the secretary to a seat within the pale of the
assembled members ; around him were gathered all the chiefs
of science in that illustrious body to which kings and emperors
have sought admission in vain. But near to the unknown
American sat one whose fame had already filled the world of
science, and at this day is more illustrious as a naturalist than

HUMBOLDT, ARAGO, AND MORSE.

BARON HUMBOLDT'S CONGRATULATIONS. 365

any other of the age. This was Baron Humboldt. The secre
tary, Arago, explained the Telegraph, while Morse stood by to
operate upon the instrument, in the presence of this distinguished
company. At the conclusion of the explanation by Arago, and in
the midst of the plaudits of the Academy, Baron Humboldt
arose, and, taking Mr. Morse by the hand, expressed, in strong
and hearty terms, his thanks and congratulations. This was
the proudest triumph thus far in Morse's life. Still greater
triumphs were in store. To his brother Professor Morse
wrote:

" At the request of M. Arago I consented to exhibit it to the In
stitute at one of their sittings. I found myself in the midst of the
most celebrated scientific men of the world. M. Arago explained in
the most lucid manner the details and actions of the instrument, and
I perceived by the expression of face and the exclamations of sur
prise and gratification which were uttered by the members, as they
crowded around the table, that the Telegraph had won their
regard."

To Mr. Yail he wrote :

" I exhibited the Telegraph to the Institute, and the sensation
produced was as striking as at Washington. It was evident that
hitherto the assembled science of Europe had considered the plan
of an electric telegraph as ingenious, but visionary, and, like aero
nautic navigation, practicable in little more than theory, and des
tined to be useless.

"I cannot describe to you the scene at the Institute when your
box with the registering-machine, just as it left Speedwell, was
placed upon the table, and surrounded by the most distinguished
men of all Europe, celebrated in the various arts and sciences —
Arago, Baron Humboldt, Gay-Lussac, and a host of others whose
names are stars that shine in both hemispheres. Arago described it
to them, and I showed its action. A buzz of admiration and appro
bation filled the whole hall, and the exclamations, 'Extraordinaire ! '
4 Tres-bien! ' c Tres admirable! ' I heard on all sides. The sentiment
was universal."

The Comptes Rendus, the weekly journal of the Academy,
gave the following notice :

366

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

"Applied Physics— Electro-Magnetic Telegraph of Mr. Morse, Pro
fessor in the University of New York.

" The instrument has been put in operation under the eyes of
the Academy ; the following is a literal translation of a large por
tion of the notice delivered by Mr. Morse to the perpetual secre
taries :

" Mr. Morse conceives that his instrument is the first practicable
application which has been made of electricity to the construction
of a telegraph.

"This instrument was invented in October, 1832, while the
author was on his way from Europe to America, in the packet-ship
Sullv. The fact is attested by the captain of the ship and several
of the passengers. Among the number of the latter was Mr.
Rives, the Minister of the United States near the French Govern
ment."

(Here is given the account of Mr. Rives and Captain Pell, after
which the account proceeds :)

" The idea of applying galvanism to the construction of tele
graphs is not new : Dr. Cone, a distinguished citizen of Philadel
phia, makes mention of it in a note inserted by him in February,
1816, in the ' Annals of Dr. Thompson,' page 162, first series ; but
he did not give any means of effecting it.

" Since the period to which the invention of Mr. Morse's Tele
graph goes back, other arrangements, founded on the same princi
ples, have been announced, of which the most celebrated are those
of Mr. Steinheil, of Munich, and of Mr. Wheatstone, of London.

"They differ very much in mechanism. The American Tele
graph employs but one circuit ; * the following is an abridged de
scription :

" At the extremity of the circuit, where the news is to be re
ceived, is an apparatus called the register. It consists of an elec
tro-magnet, the wire covering of which forms the prolongation of
the wire of the circuit. The armature of this magnet is attached
to the end of a small lever, which at its opposite extremity holds a
pen ; under this pen is a ribbon of paper, which moves forward, as
required, by means of a certain number of wheels. At the other
extremity of the circuit, that is to say, at the station from which

1 " Suppose the places to be put in communication with each other occupy the
three angles of a triangle, the four angles of a quadrilateral, or certain points of a
line inclosing a space, a single wire passing through all those points would be suffi
cient, at least according to the theory."

THE INSTRUMENT DESCRIBED. 367

the news is to be sent out, is another apparatus called iheportrule;
it consists of a battery, or generator of galvanism, at the two poles
of which the circuit ends ; near the battery a portion of this circuit
is broken ; the two extremities, disjoined, are plunged into two cups
of mercury near each other. By the aid of a bent wire attached to
the extremity of a little lever, the two cups may be, at will, placed
in connection with each other, or left separated ; thus the circuit is
completed and interrupted at pleasure. The movement of the
mechanism is as follows : When the circuit is complete, the magnet
is charged ; it attracts the armature, the movement of which brings
the pen into contact with the paper. When the circuit is inter
rupted, the magnetism of the horseshoe ceases, the armature re
turns to its first position, and the pen is withdrawn from the paper.
When the circuit is completed, and broken rapidly in succession,
mere dots are produced upon the moving paper ; if, on the contrary,
the circuit remain complete for a certain length of time, the pen
marks a line, the length of which is in proportion to the time during
which the circuit remains complete. This paper presents a long
interval of blank if the circuit remain interrupted during some con
siderable time. These points, lines, and blanks, lead to a great
variety of combinations. By means of these elements Professor
Morse has constructed an alphabet and the signs of the ciphers.
The letters may be written with great rapidity by means of certain
types, which the machine causes to move with exactness, and
which give the proper movements to the lever bearing the pen.
Forty-five of these characters may be traced in one minute.

" The register is under the control of the person who sends the
news. In fact, from the extremity called the portrule, the mechan
ism of the register may be set in motion, and stopped, at will. The
presence of a person to receive the news is, therefore, not neces
sary, though the sound of a bell, which is rung by the machine,
announces that the writing is about to be begun.

"The distance at which the American telegraph has been tried,
-is ten miles English, or four post leagues of France. The experi
ments have been witnessed by a committee appointed by the Con
gress of the United States. The reports of the committee, which
we have not copied, are extremely favorable. The committee of
Congress recommended the appropriation of thirty thousand dol
lars."

Two days after the exhibition, the Hon. H. L. Ellsworth,
one of our most intelligent citizens, being at that time in

368

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Paris, wrote the following letter to a friend in the United
States :

" I am sure you will be glad to learn that our American friend,
Professor Morse, is producing a very great sensation among the
learned men of this kingdom, by his ingenious and wonderful Mag
netic Telegraph. He submitted it to the examination of the Acad
emy of Sciences of the Royal Institute of France, at their sitting on
Monday last, and the deepest interest was excited among the mem
bers of that learned body on the subject. Its novelty, beauty, sim
plicity, and power, were highly commended.

"M. Arago, the learned and eminent principal in the Astro
nomical Observatory of the French Government, has manifested a
very lively interest in relation to it. He addressed the Academy in
regard to our countryman's invention in terms that .could not but
have been most pleasing, as they were certainly most creditable to
Mr. Morse. It is understood that a report of the exhibitions will be
submitted by M. Arago in the forthcoming number of the published
proceedings of the Institute. The favorable consideration and opin
ion of a man and philosopher so eminent in the scientific world as
M. Arago, and so intimately associated with the learned institu
tions of the French Government, will be in itself a rich reward for
American ingenuity to attain in the field of science.

" Other projects for the establishment of a magnetic telegraph
have been broached here, especially from Professor Wheatstone, of
London, and Professor Steinheil, of Munich. It is said, however, to
be very manifest that our Yankee Professor is ahead of them all in
the essential requisitions of such an invention, and that he is in the
way to bear off the palm. In simplicity of design, cheapness of
construction, and efficiency, Professor Morse's Telegraph transcends
all yet made known. In each of these qualities, it is admitted, by
those who have inspected it closely, there seems to be little else to de
sire. It is certain, moreover, that in priority of discovery he ante
dates all others.

" In being abroad, among strangers and foreigners, one's nation
ality of feeling may be somewhat more excusable than at home. Be
this as it may, one cannot but feel gratified, as an American, that
our countryman, like Fulton in the practical science of steam, is thus
in advance of the learned men of the Old World in this triumphant
adaptation to every-day use of the elder sister of Steam-power, Elec
tricity. The result of his ingenuity will in a few years impart to

PREDICTIONS. 369

the intercourse of man, at points distant from each other, an aspect
no less wonderful, free, and influential, than that which the use of
steam-power has already imparted to it. In this respect, another
revolution is at hand, even more wonderful than its predecessor. I
do not doubt that, within the next ten years, you will see this elec
tric power adopted, between all commercial points of magnitude on
both sides of the Atlantic, for purposes of correspondence, and men
enabled to send their orders or news of events from one point to an
other with the speed of lightning itself, superseding thereby all the
old modes of * express mails' and of postboy correspondence, in
all matters of moment to government and trade. The extremities
of nations will be literally wired together, and brought, for all pur
poses of written correspondence, within the compactness of a com
mon centre. In the United States, for instance, you may expect to
find, at no very distant day, the Executive messages, and the daily
votes of each House of Congress, made known at Philadelphia, New
York, Boston, and Portland — at New Orleans, Cincinnati, etc., as
soon as they can be known at Baltimore, or even at the opposite
extremity of Pennsylvania Avenue ! The merchant at Boston, or
New York, will yet be able to correspond with his ship-master at
New Orleans, on the subject of freights, prices of cotton, sugar,
etc., in every hour of the day, and give orders and receive return an
swers between the same distant points in one and the same hour,
and by night as well as by day, amid storms as readily as amid sun
shine ! To predict this much seems now like a fairy tale ; and it is,
indeed, overwhelming to contemplate the realities which science
and practical skill are pouring in upon our age. It is no longer a
proverb, but the saying has risen to the solemnity of a mathematical
truth, that ' truth is stranger than fiction.'' Abstract imagination
is no longer a match for reality in the race that science has insti
tuted on both sides of the Atlantic."

In a letter to one of his brothers, Professor Morse wrote :

" M. Foy appointed an hour to come and examine my instru
ment. He examined it minutely, asking many questions, and pro
posing many objections ; after he had seen it sufficiently, he said to
me : c I have been requested by the Minister of the Interior to ex
amine your Telegraph among others, and to report to him ; I shall
report that it is the best I have seen? He then advised me to obtain
a letter of introduction to the Minister of the Interior, the Count
Montalivet, for that the Government intended trying an experiment
24

370

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

with the Electric Telegraph, and I should probably be requested to
try mine. Oar excellent Minister, General Cass, gave me a most
flattering letter to the Count Montalivet, which I have presented,
and am now waiting further orders. I have also received a call
from the directors of the St. -Germain Railroad, which is a course of
about twelve miles out of Paris. They were much pleased, but they
did not wish so complete a telegraph ; one circuit and a few signals
were all they wished, but were desirous to know if there could be
any means devised by which they could know at any time where the
cars were on the road."

The services of the distinguished M. Antoine Perpigna were
secured, and under his direction a brevet ^invention was
promptly obtained; but no sooner had it been obtained, says
Mr. Morse, " than an unforeseen obstacle was interposed which
has rendered my patent in France of no avail to me. By the
French patent law at the time, one who obtains a patent was
obliged to put into operation his invention within two years
from the issue of his patent, under the penalty of forfeiture if
he does not comply with the law. In pursuance of this requi
sition of the law, I negotiated with the president (Turneysen)
of the St.-Germain Railroad Company to construct a line of my
Telegraph on their road from , Paris to St.-Germain, a distance
of about seven English miles. The company were favorably
disposed toward the project, but upon application (as was neces
sary) to the Government for permission to have the Telegraph
on their road, they received for answer that telegraphs were a
Government monopoly, and could not therefore be used for
private purpose. I thus found myself crushed between the
conflicting forces of two opposing laws."

His partner, Hon. F. O. J. Smith, who came with him to
the Continent, to aid in securing patents, having returned
to London, on his way to the United States, Mr. Morse wrote
to him frequently and with the greatest freedom, detailing the
minutest incidents in his negotiations, and describing his own
feelings as they were alternately elevated or depressed by the
progress he made. Dating at Paris, September 29, 1838, he says :

" On Monday I received a very flattering letter from our excel
lent Minister, Governor Cass, introducing me to the Count Monta-'

TRIALS AT THE CUSTOM-HOUSE. 371

livet, and I accordingly called the next day. I did not see him,
but had an interview with the secretary, who told me that the
Administrator of the Telegraphs had not yet reported to the
Minister ; but that he would see him the next day, and that, if I
would call on Friday, he would inform me of the result. I called
on Friday. The secretary informed me that he had seen Monsieur
Foy, and that he had more than confirmed the flattering accounts
in the American Minister's letter respecting the Telegraph, but was
not yet prepared with his report to the Minister — he wished to
make a detailed account of the differences in favor of mine over
all others that had been presented to him, or words to that effect,
and the secretary assured me that the report would be all I could
wish. This is certainly flattering, and I am to call on Monday to
learn further."

On the 24th of October, 1838, he again wrote from Paris :

" I can only add, in a few words, that every thing here is as
encouraging as could be expected. The report of the Adminis
trator of Telegraphs has been made to the Minister of the Interior,
and I have been told that I should be notified of the intentions of
Government in a few days. I have also shown the railroad Tele
graph to the St. -Germain directors, who are delighted with it, and
from them I expect a proposition within a few days."

The following letter illustrates the ludicrous manner in
which the Professor's patience and temper were tried by the
red-tape formalities of officials with whom he was brought into
contact in Paris :

"PARIS, November 22, 1838.
"Hon. F. O. J. SMITH:

" MY DEAR SIR : I intend sending this letter by the packet of
the 24th inst., and am in hopes of sending with it some intelligence
from those from whom I have been so long expecting something.
Everything moves at a snail's pace here. I find delay in all
things ; at least, so it appears to me, who have too strong a de
velopment of the American organ of ' go-a-head-ativeness ' to feel
easy under its tantalizing effects. A Frenchman ought to have as
many lives as a cat, to bring to pass, on his dilatory plan of pro
cedure, the same results that a Yankee (a gen-oo-wine Yankee)
would accomplish in his single life. Below, I must tell you what
has occurred under my own eyes, and, although the matter is small,

372 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

yet it is but one of thousands in the experience of others, and well
illustrates the system of business here, ex pede JSerculem.

u You will remember that when Mr. Chamberlain went with you
to England, he was commissioned by me to obtain some of the
clock machinery of the Telegraph, so that by having part executed
in England, and part here, the whole machine intended for him to
take to the east of Europe, could be completed in less time than if
all were done in one place. The object was simply to avoid delay —
to expedite matters. Well, you know Mr. Chamberlain procured a
common brass clock-movement in London ; from this he took out
all but the wheels of the train, and put in place of them four box
wood rollers, which he got turned for one shilling and sixpence
sterling. The instrument thus fitted cost about twelve francs.
When Mr. Chamberlain arrived at Boulogne, upon searching his
trunk this piece of a clock was discovered, and he was told that it
must be sent to the administrator at Paris, by the Douane at Bou
logne, and for the transportation, etc., he was charged and paid at
Boulogne eight francs. On his arrival at Paris he called on the
administrator, but the little box had not arrived. He called daily
for a week, and at length he was told the box had come, but could
not be delivered except by order of a certain officer, and some other
formalities. This was well enough, but now came the action of the
system. A day was consumed in finding the officer, who referred
him to a second officer, in another part of the city, who again re
ferred him to a third, and he again to a fourth. It was then dis
covered that the box was for me. I therefore must make my
appearance, to state what the ominous machinery was for. I ac
cordingly, with Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Lovering, spent a whole
day in being sent from office to office, waiting in each to have my
turn to speak to the official, and all to no purpose. Another day
was spent in like manner, and a third produced this result — I was
required to furnish an accurate colored drawing of the machinery,
and a minute description with reference to the drawing. I ought
to say that two or three times we told them to take the bdx, that
the whole object for which we wanted it was defeated by their
vexatious delay, and that I wished no further trouble about it, but
this was not allowed. I then went home and spent half a day in
drawing accurately the rollers of box-wood, coloring the drawing,
and giving a description of these rollers. I did not dream that it
was necessary to give them a drawing of a common clock-train. I
spent another day in waiting at the Administration of Douanes

VEXATIOUS DELAYS. 373

with the drawing. This at length was compared, with all formality,
before four or five officers, with the machinery, and, because the
clock-train was not drawn, pronounced incomplete, and the box
retained. Again the attempt was made to give them the box, but
no, a proper drawing must be made. Mr. Levering, Mr. Chamber
lain, and myself, passed a forenoon in first finding and then explain
ing to the Chef des Douanes the object of the machine, and the
nature of the loss I should suffer by the continuance of this ex
traordinary procrastination. The chef then wrote a letter, on my
promise to furnish the requisite drawing in a month, ordering the
box to be delivered to me. We were then sure we were at the end
of the matter. Again we -went to the Administrator of Douanes ;
there I was kept two or three hours, while the papers necessary
were drawn up — obligations, receipts, etc. Not less, in printed and
written forms, than a quire of foolscap paper was during this affair
consumed ! The security of a resident in Paris was required for the
fulfillment of my engagement. Mr. Levering was my surety. I
was then handed over to an officer, who would give me another
paper for another officer, upon paying over again the charge of
eight francs to the commissionnaire at Boulogne, whose charge
came from the Douane at Boulogne in the official paper. It was in
vain they were told that the charge had been paid at Boulogne.
Mr. Chamberlain had not the receipt, and it was thought best to
pay it, to avoid a fortnight's more delay and loss of time to rectify
it. So the money was paid, and with a new paper we went to
another officer, who told us there were five francs duties to pay.
These were paid, and we then got another paper, which was delivered
to another officer, and the box was put into our hands, upon paying
a few sous for signing my name to a receipt for the same. I was
by no means sure I had got it, until I had put it under my arm, and
had run as if I had stolen it, round two or three corners, and even
then I fancied that the whole Douane was in commotion to call me
back to complete every thing regular. This was all done that
every thing should be according to rule.

" Well, I got the box home, the original cost of which was twelve
francs, having paid to the customs here for it no less than twenty-
one francs ! But I am by no means sure that the matter is ended
yet. I spent a whole day in making the promised new drawing,
with all the wheels of the clock-train, and description, and have
given it to Mr. Lovering to deposit, to release him from his security.
But the object of the drawing is, that it may be presented to the

374 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

investigation of a court, who are to decide whether or not more
duty is to be paid, and I am obligated myself to pay any additional
duty they may fix. These are the particulars thus far. You will
exclaim, ' This must be a solitary case.' By no means. At this mo
ment our secretary of legation is waiting this same dilatory, ' regu
lar manner of doing business.' He is entitled by law, in conse
quence of his official station, to have his parcels from abroad duty
free. He has had a trunk of apparel from America two or three
weeks at Havre, waiting the regular course of a permit for him to re
ceive it, and after dancing attendance on various officials, and notes
and letters passing between the Minister of Finance and the Minis
ter of Marine, the secretary has about made up his mind to send to
Havre and pay the regular duties, and have it sent to him. But even
this will cost him another fortnight, or it may be a month. This
execrable mode of doing things resolves itself into the want of one
simple principle : there is no such thing here as conscience. This
being the case, no confidence, no discretionary power, can be given
to any sub-agent, for he will abuse it ; and consequently the regular
military muster-roll mode must supply the place of conscience, and
all its circumlocutory, cumbrous powers, etc., etc. But I am not
going to moralize, though there is a fine field for it both morally
and socially. Happy, thrice happy America !

" Afternoon, November 22d. — Called on the Ministre de 1'Inte'-
rieur, no one at home ; left card, and will call again to-morrow, and
hope to be in time yet for the packet.

" November 23d. — I have again called, but do not find at home
the chief secretary, M. Merlin. I went with Mr. Clark, who gave
me a most amusing account of a case of his, with the Douane', quite
equal to mine. He says that these delays are proverbial here,
every one having to tell of some such case. If regularity is a good,
verily one may have too much of a good thing. I shall miss the
packet of the 24th, ^but I am told she is a slow ship, and that I
shall probably find the letters reach home quite as soon by the
next. I will leave this open to add, if any thing occurs between
this and next patent-day.

" November 30th. — I have been called off from this letter until
the last moment by stirring about and endeavoring to expedite
matters with the Government. I have been to see General Cass
since my last date. I talked over matters with him. He complains
much of their dilatoriness, but sees no way of quickening them. I
have also seen Mr. Anderson, the secretary, and he called with a

ENTHUSIASTIC ADMIRATION. 375

M. Ravenant (I think the name is) and another gentleman who had
approaches to the Minister of the Interior. They were enthusiastic
in their praises of the Telegraph ; it excited their wonder at its sim
plicity and practicability. They will talk about it where it will do
service, so I am told. I wait the effects. I called again this morning
at the Minister's, and, as usual, the secretary was absent, at the pal
ace, they said. If I could once get them to look at it, I should be
sure of them, for I have never shown it to any one who .did not seem
in raptures. I showed it a few days ago to M. Fremel, the Director
of Light-Houses, who came with Mr. Vail and Captain Perry. He
was cautious, at first, but afterward became as enthusiastic as any.
" The railroad directors are as dilatory as the Government. But
I know they are discussing the matter seriously at their meetings,
and I was told that the most influential man among them said they
' must have it.' The railroad directors in England favor the plan
of the Telegraph. There is nothing in the least discouraging that has
occurred, but, on the contrary, every thing to confirm the practica
bility of the plan, both on the score of science and expense."

"PARIS, January 21, 1839.

" I have shown the Telegraph to a great number of savants, and
I still find the same effect produced on all — that of enthusiastic ad
miration. An officer in the Telegraph-office, M. Moran, after exam
ining the whole operation for some time with apparent incredulity,
broke out with an exclamation of his astonishment, and holding up
the little fork, with which I closed and broke the circuit, he ex
claimed to the company : ' Behold the fork more potent than that
of Neptune, destined to greater triumph, although it has one tooth
less than his ! ' and then, addressing me in broken English —

" { Are you. not GLORIOUS, sair, to be the author of this wonderful
discovery ? '

" I will give you the names of several who called last week :
M. Pazerat, Engineer and Director of Asphalt Operations; M. Jbr-
maid, member of the Institute and Librarian , of the King; M.
Clement des Ormes, Professor of Chemistry, etc., etc. ; General
Charenon, formerly Governor of Poland; Baron de Franc, son of
the Prince de Salins. There have been many others of the Insti
tute and Chamber of Deputies, whose names I have not recorded.
There is some allowance, perhaps, to be made for French manner;
but I think I can discover in the most polished manner when there
is real of only pretended feeling, for I have now seen all kinds, and

376 LIFE OF SAMUEL* F. B. MORSE.

found that often in the commencement there were distrust and cau
tion, and guarded expression of satisfaction, until the operation was
completed, and then all reserve seemed at once broken down, and
the exclamations of*J$t<mnantf ' Tres admirable /' and similar ex
pressions showed that the feeling was sincere. I send you the
Compte Eendu of the Societe Philotechnique, a committee of which
society, with their president, Baron la Doucette, member of the
Chamber of Deputies, at their head, came to examine it. You see
their report on the tenth and eleventh pages. I learn that the Tele
graph is much talked of in all society, and I learn that the Theatre
des Varietes, which is a sort of mirror of the popular topics, has a
piece in which persons are made to converse by means of this Tele
graph, some hundreds of miles off. This is a straw which shows
the way of the wind ; and, although matters move too slow for my
impatient spirit, yet the Telegraph is evidently gaining on the
popular notice, and in time will demand the attention of govern
ments. I have the promise of a visit from the Count Bondy, Chief
of the Household of the King, and who, I understand, has great
influence with the king, and can induce him to adopt the Telegraph
between some of his palaces. Hopes, you perceive, continue
bright, but they are somewhat unsubstantial to an empty purse. I
look for the first fruits in America. My confidence increases every
day in the certainty of the eventual adoption of this means of
communication throughout the civilized world. Its practicability,
hitherto doubted by savants here, is completely established, and
they do not hesitate to give me the credit of having established
it. I rejoice quite as much for my country's sake as for my own,
that both priority and superiority are awarded to my /invention."

In a letter dated Paris, January 28, 1839, the Professor wrote
to Mr. Smith : " I wrote by the Great Western a few days ago.
The event then anticipated in regard to the ministry has occurred.
The ministers have resigned, and it is expected that the new cabinet
will be formed this day, with Marshal Soult at its head. Thus you
perceive new causes of delay in obtaining any answer from the
Government. As soon as I can learn the name of the new Minister
of the Interior, I will address a note to him, or see him, as I may be
advised, and see if I can possibly obtain an answer, or at least the
report of the administration of the Telegraphs. Nothing has oc
curred in other respects but what is agreeable. Every exhibition
of the Telegraph calls forth increased admiration. I have nothing
to complain of on the score of approbation ; its simplicity* and su-

THE CORRESPONDENT. 377

periority to all other proposed telegraphs are constantly adverted
to by all the savants. The Count Remberteau, the Prefect of the
Seine, whom I mentioned in a former letter as having been to see
me, speaks in terms of admiration of the Telegraph on all occasions.
He has doubtless spoken of it to the king, as he said he should ;
but the king, besides his troubles just now in the formation of a
new cabinet, has a domestic affliction which he feels strongly. His
daughter, the Duchess of Wurtemberg, whose death has been an
nounced for some time, was buried yesterday, the body having ar
rived from Italy. This has probably caused some delay. I have
need of much patience. ... I am looking with great interest for
intelligence from America, in regard to Telegraph operations there ;
for I hope more from my own country than from any other. There
is more of the 'go-ahead' character with us, suited to the idea
of an electric-magnetic Telegraph. Here there are old systems
long established to interfere, and at least to make them cautious be
fore adopting a new project, however promising. Their railroad
operations are a proof in point. We, on the contrary, have a clear
field, and I cannot but hope something from our Government, or
our companies, in a speedy establishment of the system. All my
leisure (if that may be called leisure which employs nearly all my
time) is devoted to perfecting the whole matter. The invention of
the correspondent, I think you will all say, is a more essential im
provement. It has been my winter's labor, and, to avoid expense,
I have been compelled to make it entirely with my own hands. I
can now give you its exact dimensions — twelve and a half inches
long, six and a half wide, and six and a half deep. It dispenses
entirely with boxes of type (one set alone being necessary), and
dispenses, also, with the rules, and with all machinery for moving
the rules. There is no winding up, and it is ready at all times.
You touch the letter, and the letter is written immediately at
the other extremity. The instrument will be in operation this
week. Before closing, I ought to advert to the most singular
winter we have thus far had in Paris. It has been, with the ex
ception 'of a day or two, like spring. I doubt if it has frozen to
the depth of two inches, until yesterday, anywhere in Paris. It is
now cold but fine.

" P. S. — I have this moment received official notice from the Aca
demy of Industry, under the presidency of the Duke de Montmorency,
that a committee of that society had been appointed to examine my
Telegraph ; and that to-morrow at three o'clock they will come to

373 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

see it. Thus progress is slowly made toward the end desired, for
the opinion of these societies has great weight with the Government,
and the more they can be accumulated the better. I sent you by
the last packet the report (favorable) of the committee of the Phi-
lotechnique Society. In my next I hope to send you reports of my
further progress. One thing seems certain, my Telegraph has
driven out of the field all the other plans on the magnetic principle.
I hear nothing of them in public or private. No society notices
them."

Under date of February 2d he wrote again : " I can compare
the state of things here to an April day, at one moment sunshine,
at the next cloudy. The Telegraph is evidently growing in favor;
testimonials of approbation and compliments multiply ; and yester
day I was advised by the secretary of the Academic Industrielle to
interest moneyed men in the matter, if I intended to profit by it ; and
he observed that now was the precise time to do it, in the interval
of the Chambers. I am at a loss how to act. I am not a business
man, and fear every movement which suggests itself to me. I am
thinking of proposing a company on the same plan you last pro
posed in your letter from Liverpool, and which you intend to create
in case the Government shall choose to do nothing ; that is to say, a
company taking the right at one thousand francs per mile, paying the
proprietors fifty per cent, in stocks, and fifty per cent, in cash, raising
about fifty thousand francs for a trial some distance. I shall take ad
vice, and let you know the result. I wish you were here ; I am sure
something could be done by an energetic and business man like
yourself. As for poor me, I feel that I am a child in business mat
ters. I can invent and perfect the invention, and demonstrate its
uses and practicability ; but ' further the deponent saith not.' Per
haps I underrate myself in this case, but that is not a usual fault in
human nature.

" I had the committee of the Academic Industrielle to examine
the Telegraph last Wednesday, according to appointment. The
same effect was produced upon them as usual — skepticism giving
way by degrees, and changing to enthusiastic feeling and ex
pression. The Academy will publish their report soon, a copy of
which I will send you. It is one of the most distinguished and
numerous bodies of savants in Europe, numbering between three and
four thousand members, in various countries, so that whatever they
say will be widely diffused, and I think it will be altogether favor
able. I learned, from one of the directors, that my Telegraph is

CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES. 379

commented on with approbation throughout all Europe, in the
scientific and political journals of all the capitals. M. Jobart, the
editor of the Courrier Beige, of Brussels, particularly, who some
time since asserted the possibility of an electric telegraph, has, I
understand, commented with enthusiasm on mine.

"With the committee of the Academy came several members
of the Chamber of Deputies, one of whom observed to me : ' The
Government should by all means own this invention ; it is of vastly
more importance than the daguerreotype, which is proposed to the
Chambers. Why has it not been offered to the Government ? ' I
replied that it had been submitted for several months to the Gov
ernment, and that my patience had been severely tried in waiting
for an answer from the 'Minister of the Interior. He observed
that, if ministers choose to be so dilatory, the Chambers must take
it up ; and, says he, ' I will expedite it. Would you have any ob
jection to show the Telegraph in operation before the Chambers ? ?
4 None at all,' I replied ; ' on the contrary, I shall be ready at any
moment to wait upon them.' c I will see the questor,' he said,
* and give you notice. M. Arago spoke iu the highest commen
dation of your invention, as being superior to the German inven
tion, but his representations fall short of the reality. I am de
lighted in the highest degree. The value and importance of this
Telegraph are incalculable.'

" This is the substance and nearly the words of the conversation
with this member of the Chambers, who spoke English perfectly
well. This is the sunshine, but the clouds are obscuring it, for the
cabinet this moment is dissolved by the king (a perilous step), and
a new election and assembling will consume two months of time.
You will perceive that, in all the disappointments and delays to
which the enterprise here has been subjected, there is not one that
affects the character of the invention. Every repeated examination
of it, by savants and committees of scientific societies, only confirms
the soundness of its principles and its intrinsic value.

" The labors on the instruments — the correspondent and regis
ter, bringing them into one box, in a portable form — you will find are
to produce a most interesting change in the whole affair — a change
which is not perhaps at first obvious. If made portable, as the im
provement I have completed accomplishes, a person traveling, with
a box riot so large as a writing-desk, can converse on any part of
an extended line of thousands of miles with his friends at any other
part.

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE.

" But its importance, in a military point of view, is incalculable,
a hint of which I gave you in a former letter. I have little time
and space to add — I expect much from my own c go-ahead ' country
men. I have received with your letter Dr. Gale's, and am glad he
visits Washington with you. Give my respects to him and your
lady, whom congratulate from me on your safe return after so many
perils. Next Tuesday I have another exhibition of the Telegraph
to a room full of savants and nobles, the Prince of Rouen (not ruin)
at their head, with the Duke de Montmorency, etc., and others,
' too numerous to mention.' I have but two or three weeks here,
and hope I shall receive such instructions from you that I can leave
matters properly. I must return in the Great Western, on the
25th of March. My family requires my presence, and I cannot
neglect them."

The Professor experienced the greatest elevation of hope,
followed by the deepest depression of disappointment that at
any time befell him, in a negotiation for the invention, and for
his own services, that was assumed in the name of the Russian
Government by the Baron Meyendorf. His letters will give a
correct idea of his feelings. He wrote to Mr. Smith, under date
of Paris, July 13, 1839 :

" I have been wholly occupied for the last week in copying out
the correspondence and other documents, to defend myself against
the infamous attack of Dr. Jackson, notice of which my brother
sent me. I have sent it this day by Dr. Mitchell, who sails in the
Ville de Lyon, on the 16th — the same packet that takes this. I
have sent a letter to Dr. Jackson, calling on him to save his char
acter by a total disclaimer of his presumptuous claim, within one
week from the receipt of the letter, and giving him the plea of a
' mistake ' and ' misconception of my invention,' by which he may
retreat. If he fails to do this, I have requested my brother to pub
lish immediately my defense, in which I give a history of the in
vention, the correspondence between Dr. Jackson and myself, and
close with the letters of Hon. Mr. Rives, Mr. Fisher, of Phila
delphia, and Captain Pell. I cannot conceive of such infatuation
as has possessed this man. He can scarcely be deceived. It must
be his consummate self-conceit that deceives him, if he is deceived.
But this cannot be ; he knows he has no title whatever to a single
hint of any kind in the matter.

" I received your second letter, authorizing me to draw on you

REV. MR. KIRK'S AID. 381

for such moneys as I may want ; a closer calculation will oblige
me to draw for two hundred pounds, instead of one hundred and
fifty, as I told you I should in my last, for it is possible that I
shall be compelled to stay a little longer than I anticipated, in
consequence of some prospects favorable from Russia. The Baron
Meyendorf, the Russian Government agent for reporting to the
Emperor all important discoveries, has been to see the Tele
graph. He is very much pleased with it, and says he shall report
it to his Government. He introduced to me M. Amyot, who has
proposed also an Electric Telegraph, but upon seeing mine he
could not restrain his gratification, and with his whole soul he is
at work to forward it with all who have influence. He is the
• right-hand man of the Baron Meyendorf, and he is exerting all
his powers to have the Russian Government adopt my Telegraph.
To the objections of the various savants who were present yester
day at the experiment, that the great difficulty was with the wires,
to prevent their being destroyed by malevolence, he replied that
even this, which was the only plausible objection which would be
urged, was in reality nothing — that, placed beneath a railroad,
they were perfectly secure, for the men that watched the rails
would also watch the wires. I go with him to-morrow, to search
for the drawings of So' mme ring's and Steinheil's Telegraph, with
a description of them, at the Institute. He is really a noble-minded
man. The baron told me he had a large soul, and I find he has.
I have no claim on him, and yet he seems to take as much interest
in my invention as if it were his own. How different a conduct
from Jackson's ! In mentioning obligations, I ought to speak of my
room-mate, Rev. M. Kirk ; I am indebted to him mediately for all
the success I have had among the savants here. His acquaintance
with M. Julien de Paris, and others, has been of great service,
and his knowledge of the language, of which I am ignorant, en
abling him to explain the whole process at my various experiments,
has made him invaluable to me. Indeed, I don't know what I
should have done without him. You will have learned how the
dissolution of the Chambers has created further delay in my busi
ness. I was on the very point of having a call to exhibit it to the
Chambers at the moment they were dissolved. I learned through
M. Amyot, that the Government were seriously thinking of estab
lishing a telegraphic line on the electric principle between Paris
and Havre, but that, such was the political state of affairs, noth
ing would certainly be done this year. But he thought it would

382 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B/ MOKSE.

eventually be done, and that mine (if I understood him right) would
be the one adopted, or ought to be the one adopted. As to form
ing a company to take it, I find it impracticable, for this reason :
the Telegraph is a Government monopoly, and therefore I am de
pendent wholly on them. The Government allows no commercial
or social use of the Telegraph ; and the reason why the railroads
have not taken hold is, that Government have not decided whether
they can allow it. I get no answer yet from the Minister of the
Interior. Do you think your patience would hold out as long ?
I begin to doubt whether I shall obtain a'ny. Indeed, but for the
aspect of things North, the sooner I return home the better. I do
not see that I can further benefit the concern at present, here, ex:
cept by making it known to the various learned men ; this obtains
honor, to be sure, and spreads its merits ; and profit may be a con
sequence at some future time. I shall, if possible, make this sort
of arrangement with the baron, if he should propose any thing
from Russia, viz., that I should return to America immediately, and
visit Russia, or send an agent, in the summer, for I must return
and arrange my affairs for the change which this Telegraph has
compelled me to make. He may require an answer from St. Peters
burg, and that would delay me ; but I had better return and come
out again, if necessary, with a more perfected and compact instru
ment, which I cannot get here, situated as I am.

" I give you a piece of good news in the following article from
the Journal des D'ebats of Sunday, February 10th : c They wrote
from Munich the 3d of February, that the Bavarian Government has
ordered that the Galvanic Telegraph of the invention of M. de Stein-
heil, Professor of Chemistry in the University Royal of Munich, will
be established on the railroad from Furth to Wurtemberg, and that
direction of these telegraphs will be confided to this learned pro
fessor.'

" I wish our Government had been the first to adopt the Tele
graph ; but now the Bavarians have the credit of being the first to
establish an Electric Telegraph ; but this first adoption gives assur
ance of their final universal adoption, and if mine is best, as all
continue to affirm, mine must supplant all, unless a better (Dr.
Jackson's, perhaps) should be found.

" I yesterday paid the balance of patent account, eight hundred
and fifty francs, and have the receipt and the patent for the railroad
improvement. If I get my correspondence in action satisfactorily,
which will no doubt be the case if I can apply myself a few days

BARON MEYENDORF. 383

longer to its completion (having been interrupted so continually,
and never allowing the other business of the Telegraph to suffer
from any attention to these mechanical improvements, I have been
constantly prevented from giving it the finishing touch), I shall
venture to add it to the improvements. This will incur an addi
tional expense to you of one hundred and eighty-seven francs. I
have these two days past tried the sustaining power of the little
batteries, three in number, on Daniel's principle, and to my gratifi
cation I find that by simply supplying the top that holds the crys
tals with them as fast as they dissolve — and this has been but
three times in the last forty-eight hours ! and of the amount alto
gether in size of a couple of eggs — the action has been kept up
undiminished the whole time, day and night. I intend letting the
batteries act themselves out, and will report to you the result.1 It
is a fact of very important bearing, as you see, on the Telegraph.
Every day is clearing away all the difficulties that prevent its adop
tion ; the only difficulty that remains, it is universally said, is the
protection of the wires from malevolent attack, and this can be pre
vented by proper police, and secret and deep interment. I have no
doubt of its universal adoption ; it may take time, but it is certain.
T have not yet received the reports in Congress that you say you
have sent, but have heard there are packages for me at Havre. I am
anxious to know the progress made at home. When is income to
take the place of outgo ? I wish you could see my brother on the
subject of Jackson, and arrange with him. Perhaps you could your
self see Jackson, and see what his design is in this infamous attack
of his."

On the 22d of the same month he wrote Mr. Smith from
Paris the subjoined exultant letter :

" I have a moment to write to be in time for the packet of the
24th by estafet, and to give you at length a dish of good news re
specting the Telegraph. A few days ago at my usual exhibition
of the Telegraph on Tuesdays, which I have had for two months
past, Monsieur Julien de Paris brought the Baron Meyendorf,
the agent of the Emperor of Russia for reporting useful discov
eries to the Russian Government. The baron was much struck with
the Telegraph, and, learning from me that the administrator-in-chief
of Telegraphs in Paris had reported favorably, he wished to know

1 I let the batteries remain fifty-four hours, and they were still powerful enough,
but a little enfeebled. There is no difficulty on that score.

384 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

if I could procure the report for him, and he would at once trans
mit it to his Government and recommend the adoption of my Tele
graph. I called on the administrator, M. Foy, with your request,
as a member of Congress, to have the report. I did not find him
in, but I left a note requesting a copy of his report. I have just
received an answer from M. Foy, which, although not complying
(from very proper reasons which he assigns) with my request for a
copy of the report, yet gives me all we could wish ; I give you a
translation of the letter entire :

" ' PARIS, February 20, 1839.
" * CABINET OP THE ADMINISTKATOR-IN-CHIEP.

" MY DEAK, SIR : I regret sincerely that I was not at home
when you did me the honor to call. I would have fully explained
to you the impossibility of communicating to you my observations
addressed to the Minister of the Interior upon Electric Telegraphs.
These observations make part of my administrative correspondence
with the minister, and T cannot detach them from it with propriety.
I believe, too, my dear sir, that you exaggerate to yourself the im
portance and extent of it. I had only to submit a summary notice
upon many electric and electro-magnetic Telegraphs which had
been successively put under the eyes of the minister, and my ob
servations were relative only to the projects announced for M. Mon-
talivet to make some essays upon this new kind of telegraphic
communication. You will not then find, my dear sir, as you think,
a detailed and mature report upon your beautiful invention, and
the note that I might address to you would be altogether unwor
thy the attention of Congress. If, however, I do not believe it of
use to you, sir, nor possible for me to give you a copy of an ad
ministrative letter which relates to many personal matters, I take a
true pleasure in confirming to you in writing that which I have al
ready had the honor to say to you viva voce, that I have signalized
to monsieur, the Minister of the Interior, your Electro-magnetic
Telegraph, as being the system which presents the best chance of
a practical application, and that I had declared that, if some trials
are to be made with electric Telegraphs, I hesitate not to propose
that they should be made with your apparatus. I thank you, my
dear sir, for the kind offer you have had the goodness to make, of
permitting me to come and see your admirable experiments, of
which I shall avail myself as soon as the recent domestic affliction
which now occupies my mind will allow. Accept, my dear sir,

M. AMYOT. 385

the assurance of the distinguished consideration of your devoted
servant, ALPHONSE FOY.'

" This, you perceive, is all that is necessary ; it could not be
more flattering or more favorable. The deficiencies of detail in a
comparison of mine with others will be fully made up in the ' Re
port of the Academic Industrielle,' which I heard read last evening
at a grand meeting of the Academy at the Place Vendome ; and in
which both the priority of my invention and its superiority to all
others are fully declared. It was received with acclamation, and I
had the Telegraph there to talk to them. There is truly a liber
ality in the French scientific classes that I think reflects the great
est credit upon the nation. This report will be published in a few
days, and I will bring a copy, or rather many copies, with me. But
the tidbit of the dish now comes. The Baron Meyendorf did not
write for this note (for I have but this moment received it, and
have not yet. shown it to him). He intimated to me that he had
for a long time been in treaty with M. Amyot, who has for some
time been engaged in electric Telegraphs, to establish one in Rus
sia ; that if M. Amyot and I could agree to unite our labors he
would immediately put matters in train for the establishment of a
line of twenty miles from St. Petersburg. I had an interview
with M. Amyot, a noble-hearted, liberal man, and our union was
easily formed. He wished much to accompany me — to take, in fact,
exactly that part in which I needed most the assistance of an ex
perienced scientific man — to make the experiments on the effects of
temperature on the passage of electricity, the size of batteries
necessary, etc. He has philological researches in which he feels also
a deep interest, and on account of which he desires to go to Rus
sia. He wished me merely to state to the baron that I should be
glad to have him (M. Amyot) accompany me. With this under
standing I yesterday called on the baron, and- so far as he (the
baron) is concerned the whole matter is nearly arranged. I gave
him the estimate of probable expense of establishing a line of
twenty miles, exclusive of ditching, asphalt, and some smaller
items, putting the whole at seven hundred and ninety-four pounds
sterling. He at once said eight hundred pounds, and, add extras,
two hundred pounds more, say one thousand pounds ; and, says he,
4 You have omitted the price of your passage from America and back
again,' which he calculated and added. * Now,' says he, ' what will
you expect of it if it is successful?' I said, whatever the emperor
25

336 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

may think just. He answered : ' No, this is not the way we do
business ; will you put it on this basis, to receive for five years half
the saving to the Government of your plan over that of the old plan ? '
I said yes, if in calculating this saving these points shall be taken
into the account :

"First, the time in which the two Telegraphs are available.
Second, the quantity of information in a given time that each can
transmit under the most favorable circumstances. He said : ' Well,
this I will immediately submit to my Government. You wish to
return to the United States. Can you return to Paris by the 1st
of July, so as to be in St. Petersburg by the 15th of July ? ' I
told him I thought I could. ' Well,' said he, ' you will return, then,
I suppose, by the Great Western to New York, on the 23d of March ;
arrive, say 10th of April. You will receive the answer of the Rus
sian Government through its minister in the United States about
the 10th of May. You will embark from New York about 1st of
June, be in Paris 1st of July, and St. Petersburg 15th of July. In
fifteen days the trench can be dug, for we have eighty thousand
men at command ; and these can be sufficient to dig the trench in
seven days if you desire it. The emperor will then be in St. Peters
burg, which will be favorable to you.'

" Other items I must tell you when I see you in America, for I
feel now that something is likely to be effected ; but our whole
energies must be directed to having this first adoption of our sys
tem a successful one ; all hands must go to work. What I shall
wish immediately on my return is a clock mechanician, who can
devote himself wholly to making, say six or eight of each of the
machines, the correspondent and the register, with the simplifica
tion that a winter's thought and experience have led me to form.
The compensation I have proposed to M. Amyot is one-seventh of
what is received from the Russian Government when the experi
ment is proved successful. I hope this will be approved by you.
He appears satisfied with it, and, taking into the account that he
relinquishes his own schemes with the Russian Government, and
strongly advocates with the -baron the adoption of mine — that, in
fact, without this arrangement nothing probably would have been
done, for the baron made it conditional ; and, moreover, the respon
sibility he assumes of precisely that part which has not been actu
ally proved by experiment — I think the terms just. We have noth
ing to do with his personal expenses ; the Russian Government
pay these as well as mine. I have to close this immediately or I

FAVORABLE PROSPECTS. 387

shall lose the estafet. I have engaged my passage in the Great
Western on the 23d of March, and hope to be in New York before
10th of April, perhaps even before this reaches you. I wish I could
see you in New York when I arrive. I have just made a proposi
tion to the baron, through M. Amyot, to advance three thousand
francs to me in New York so soon as the Government have deter
mined to adopt the system — if it is accepted, well ; if not, it will be
worth a little risk to seize the present motive to give impulse to
the whole business ; and funds must be advanced by the company.
I have written to Mr. Chamberlain to make new terms in considera
tion of the change which matters have assumed, and the necessity
I am under of personal superintendence in Russia. I hope you will
at home also consider this, and arrange justly my proper compen
sation. On this point I have no fears from those engaged in the
enterprise.

" I will write you again, but think I shall probably see you be
fore another letter can reach you by the packet."

" PARIS, March 2, 1839.

" By my last letter I informed you of the more favorable pros
pects of the telegraphic enterprise. These prospects still continue,
and I shall return with the gratifying reflection that, after all my
anxieties and labors and privations, and yours and my other asso
ciates' expenditures and risks, we are all in a fair way of reaping
the fruits of our toil. The political troubles of France have been
a hinderance hitherto to the attention of the Government to the
Telegraph, but in the mean time I have gradually pushed forward
the invention into the notice of the most influential individuals of
France. I had Colonel Lasalle, aide-de-camp to the king, and his
lady, to see the Telegraph a few days ago ; he promised that with
out fail it should be mentioned to the king. You will be surprised
to learn, after all the promises hitherto made by the prefect of the
Seine, Count Remberteau, and by various other officers of the Gov
ernment, and after General Cass's letter to the aide on service, four
or five months since, requesting it might be brought to the notice
of the king, that the king has not yet heard of it. But so things
go here. Such dereliction would destroy a man with us in a mo
ment, but here there is a different standard (this, of course, entire
nous).

" I have just had a visit from the Count de Noe, a peer of
France, who brought with him the Due de Cazes and the Duchess,

388 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

and the Baron Pasquier, the chancellor of France, with the baroness,
to see the Telegraph. The duke was surprised to learn that the Gov
ernment had had the subject so long under consideration, especially
after the administrator of the Telegraphs had reported in its favor,
and promised me that he would see immediately the Count de Mon-
talivet on the subject. I told him if any thing was to be done, it
was necessary to move quick. I had been in attendance on the
Government for an answer the whole winter ; that I should leave
France in a few days ; that Russia had seen the advantage of the
invention to her empire, and that I was in treaty to go to St.
Petersburg. This seemed to have some effect, and he said there
should be no delay. Among the numerous visitors that have
thronged to see the Telegraph, there have been a great many of
the principal English nobility. Among them, the Lord and Lady
Aylmer, formerly Governor of Canada, Lord Elgin and son, the
celebrated preserver, not depredator, as he has been most slander
ously called, of the Phidian Marbles. Lord Elgin has been twice,
and expressed a great interest in the invention. He brought with
him yesterday the Earl of Lincoln, a young man of unassuming
manners ; he was delighted, and gave me his card, with a pressing
invitation to call on him when I came to London. I have not failed
to let the English know how 1 was treated in regard to my appli
cation for a patent in England, and contrasted the conduct of the
French in this respect with theirs. I believe they felt it, and I
think it was Lord Aylmer, but am not quite sure, who advised that
the subject be brought up in Parliament by some member and made
the object of special legislation, which he said might be done, the
attorney-general to the contrary notwithstanding. I really believe,
if matters were rightly managed in England, something yet might
be done there, if not by patent, yet by a parliamentary grant of a
proper compensation. It is remarkable that they have not yet
made any thing like mine in England. It is evident that neither
Wheatstone nor Davy comprehended my mode, after all their asser
tions that mine was published. If matters move slower here than
with us, yet they gain surely. I am told every hour that the two
great wonders of Paris just now, about which everybody is convers
ing, are, Daguerre's wonderful results in fixing permanently the
image of the camera obscura and Morse's Electro-Magnetic Tele
graph ; and they do not hesitate to add that, beautiful as are the
results of Daguerre's experiments, the invention of the Electro-
Magnetic Telegraph is that which will surpass, in the greatness of

DR. JACKSON'S PRETENSIONS. 339

the revolution to be effected, all other inventions. Robert Walsh,
Esq., who has just left me, is beyond measure delighted. I was
writing a word from one room to another; he came to me and said,
' The next word you may write is, " IMMORTALITY," for the sub
limity of this invention is of surpassing grandeur. I see now that
all physical obstacles which may for a while hinder, will inevitably
be overcome y the problem is solved • MAN MAT INSTANTLY CON-

VEKSE WITH HIS FELLOW-MAI* IN ANY PAET OF THE WOULD.'

" I have sent in to the Baron Meyendorf the details of the engage
ment between the Russian Government and myself, formed on the
basis agreed on in conversation with him, and which* I mentioned
in my last letter to you. I am anxiously waiting his reply and ap
proval, in order to take my departure from Paris. I have taken my
passage in the Great Western, and will give you, when I see you,
all the information on this matter which is too long to write. I am
glad I had the letters of the captain and passengers of the Sully
with me. Jackson's impudent assertion of a claim to my invention
was talked about much here, and, although disbelieved by my friends
without any evidence, but simply from knowing me, it made for a
little time an unpleasant state of things. I read these letters to
General Cass, to M. Anderson, and to many others, and the antidote
has been effectual, and a pretty strong tide of indignation raised
against Jackson. . . . Providentially, I have proof at every point
of the futility and baseness of his claim, and, where others could not
be witnesses, he is made to witness against himself. I am anxious
to see you and concert measures for pushing matters, for the iron is
hot all over Europe and we must strike now. A Telegraph Com
pany ought to be formed at once for operations all over the world.
Depend upon it, fifty or a hundred fortunes might be made out of it.
It wants only a proper management, and a little capital. Hoping
soon to see you, T remain, as ever, truly yours,

" SAMUEL F. B. MOESE."

MOESE AND DAGUERRE.

While in Paris, Professor Morse could not fail to hear of the
brilliant and astonishing experiments of M. Daguerre, whose
genius and perseverance were then bringing to the birth one of
the most beautiful discoveries of this or any age. Professor
Morse invited Mm to examine his Telegraph, and also requested
permission to see the results of Daguerre' s experiments in the
art of painting with sunbeams. As an artist and painter, Morse

390

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

was naturally anxious to know the meaning of this new art. M.
Daguerre promptly acceded to the invitation, and the remarkable
results that followed the instructions which Mr. Morse received
from the discoverer, the introduction by Mr. Morse of the art
into the United States of America, and the identification of his
name with Photography as well as with the Telegraph, will be
seen in subsequent pages.

Professor Morse alludes, in his letters from Paris, to the in
terest which some of the British nobility were taking in the
Telegraph. Among them were Lord Lincoln (afterward the
Duke of Newcastle) and Lord Elgin. Lord Elgin wrote to him :

''PARIS, March 5, 1839.

" You would oblige me greatly if you could allow me to bring
my family and some particular friends to have the pleasure of see
ing your admirable discovery of the Electric Telegraph, under the
great advantage of your exhibition of it, on Thursday next, the 7th
inst., at two o'clock — or any other day and hour that would better
suit you. I venture to name a private day, because we shall be
numerous enough to fill your apartment. Lord Lincoln was ex
tremely sorry that, the departure being quite necessarily fixed for
Saturday, he could not have a second opportunity of admiring the
beauty and simplicity of your brilliant discovery. I have the honor
to be, dear sir, your obedient servant,

" ELGIN."

The visit was made, and a few days afterward Lord Elgin
wrote to Professor Morse again :

" I cannot help expressing a very strong desire that, instead of
delaying till your return from America your wish to take out a
patent in England for your highly scientific and simple mode of
communicating intelligence by an Electric Telegraph, you would
take measures to that effect at this moment, and for that purpose
take your model now with you to London. Your discovery is now
much known as well as appreciated, and the ingenuity now afloat
is too extensive for one not to apprehend that individuals, even in
good faith, may make some addition to qualify them to take out a
first patent for the principle ; whereas, if you. brought it at once, now,
before the competent authorities, especially under the advantage
of an introduction such as Mr. Drummond can give you to Lord
Brougham, a short delay in your proceeding to America may se-

INVITATION TO LONDON. 391

cure this desirable object immediately. With every sincere good
wish for your success and the credit you so richly deserve, I am,
dear sir, yours faithfully, ELGIN".

" Mr. PRESIDENT MORSE."

To Sir Henry Ellis, Lord Elgin wrote :

" DEAR SIR HEXRY : I beg leave to make you acquainted with
Mr. President Morse, of the National Academy of Design at New
York. He has on a former occasion studied the Elgin Marbles;
still, if he should wish again to see them, on his present passage
through London, I am sure you will have the kindness to give him
every facility in your power. He is engaged in perfecting an Elec
tric Telegraph of the highest possible interest; he may possibly not
have it with him at this moment, but the beauty and simplicity of
his invention, and the ability and clearness with which he explains
it, argue much talent and intelligence on his part."

His work in Paris being completed, and nothing more being
gained than the positive approbation of his invention by the
greatest authorities in the scientific world, Professor Morse went
to London, and was immediately invited by Lord Lincoln to make
his house the theatre for the exhibition of the Telegraph.

" At the request of the Earl of Lincoln," Professor Morse wrote,
" I exhibited at his house my Telegraph to a large company assem
bled for the purpose ; members of the Houses of Parliament, the
Lords of the Admiralty, and members of the Royal Society. As a
counterpoise to the injustice done me in England in regard to my
patent application, I ought to mention the kind interest taken by
Lord Elgin, the Earl of Lincoln, Hon. Henry Drummond, and others,
in my invention, and their offers of service in procuring for me a
patent by a special act of Parliament, which, under other circum
stances, might have been procured."

Professor Morse endeavored to secure the attention of Lord
Brougham to his invention, and, in reply to his letter requesting
an interview, received the following characteristic note :

" Lord Brougham's compliments, and is extremely sorry he is
not able to make an appointment to see Mr. Morse ; he is engaged
every day this week, at the House of Lords, from ten o'clock to din
ner-time, and on some days to a later hour. However, if Mr. M.

392 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

can come to the House any morning before three, Lord B. will be
able to come out to him for a few minutes."

Mr. Morse replied to his lordship :

" Mr. Morse's respects to Lord Brougham, and would say to him
that, through the kindness of the Earl of Lincoln, the Telegraph
apparatus of Mr. M.'s invention is, for a single day only, at Lord
Lincoln's house, 25 Park Lane, where Mr. M. has engaged to show
its operation to-morrow (Wednesday), from eleven o'clock until
five. Mr. M. scarcely dares hope for the pleasure of Lord Brougham's
presence, absorbed as he must be in public affairs ; but, if Lord B.
could by any means spare a moment for that purpose, Mr. M. need
not say how gratified he should be to exhibit his invention to Lord
Brougham. Mr. M. will avail himself of Lord B.'s invitation to see
him a moment, on Thursday, between ten and eleven, at the House
of Lords."

The kindness and consideration shown to Professor Morse by
these distinguished men in London made a lasting impression
upon his heart. In after years, when the Prince of Wales visited
the United States, Professor Morse was invited to address him
at the University of the City of New York, and in his remarks
recognized the fact that the Duke of Newcastle, who was with
the Prince of Wales, was no other than the Earl of Lincoln of
1839. Mr. Morse said :

" An allusion in most nattering terms to me, rendered doubly so
in such presence, has been made by our respected Chancellor, which
seems to call for at least the expression of my thanks. At the
same time it suggests the relation of an incident in the early history
of the Telegraph, which may not be inappropriate to this occasion.
The infant Telegraph, born and nursed within these walls, had
scarcely attained a feeble existence, ere it essayed to make its voice
heard on the other side of the Atlantic. I carried it to Paris in
1838. It attracted the warm interest not only of the Continental
philosophers, but also of the intelligent and appreciative among the
eminent nobles of Britain, then on a visit to the French capital.
Foremost among these was the late Marquis of Northampton, then
President of the Royal Society, the late distinguished Earl of Elgin,
and in a marked degree the noble Earl of Lincoln. The last-named
nobleman, in a special manner, gave it his favor; he comprehended

EXPRESSIONS OF GRATITUDE. 393

its important future, and, in the midst of the skepticism that clouded
its cradle, he risked his character for sound judgment in venturing
to stand godfather to the friendless child. He took it under his roof
in London, invited the statesmen and the philosophers of Britain to
see it, and urged forward with kindly words and generous atten
tions those who had the infant in charge. It is with no ordinary
feelings, therefore, that after the lapse of twenty years I have the
singular honor this morning of greeting with hearty welcome, in
such presence, before such an assemblage, and in the cradle of the
Telegraph, this noble Earl of Lincoln, in the person of the present
Duke of Newcastle."

CHAPTEK X.

1839-1843.

BETUBN TO NEW YORK — RUSSIAN CONTRACT DISAPPOINTMENT AT INACTION

OF CONGRESS — ME. SMITH'S VIEWS OF THE STATE OF THINGS — THE DA-
GUEEEEOTTPE — INTRODUCED EXPERIMENTS — SUCCESS — TEACHES OTHERS —
SULLY AND ALLSTON^-RUSSIA FAILS — DEEP DEPRESSION — LETTER TO HIS
PARTNERS MR. A. VAIL AND HON. F. O. J. SMITH — CONSULTATION WITH

PROFESSOR HENRY — LETTERS OF PROFESSOR HENRY STRUGGLES OF MORSE

UNDER POVERTY — LETTERS TO ME. VAIL — AN AGENT EMPLOYED AT WASH
INGTON — FAILUEE — AN OLD SORROW — HON. W. W. BOAEDMAN, M. C. —
LETTER TO HON. F. O. J. SMITH ON PEOFESSOE HENEY'S ENCOUEAGE-
MENT — FIEST SUBMARINE CABLE LAID BY PROFESSOR MORSE — REPORT OF
AMERICAN INSTITUTE — HON. 0. G. FEERIS — LETTER TO HIM — PROFESSOR
MORSE IN WASHINGTON — FAVORABLE REPORT IN CONGRESS — DEBATE —
PASSAGE OF BILL IN THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE — APPROPRIATING THIRTY
THOUSAND DOLLARS FOE AN EXPEEIMENTAL LINE OF TELEGEAPH — DEATH
OF ALLSTON.

"OEOFESSOE MOESE arrived in New York by the steam
ship Great "Western, on his return from England, April
15, 1839. The next day he wrote to his partner, Hon. F. O. J.
Smith :

" I take the first hour of rest, after the fatigues of my boister
ous voyage, to apprise you of my arrival yesterday in the Great
Western. The day before I left Paris, I concluded the arrange
ments with the Eussian Government, through the Baron Meyen-
dorf, so far as he had power, and shall expect, through the Eussian
Minister, the answer of the Government at St. Petersburg by the
10th of May. There are some points different from those which
I believe I sketched in my letter to you of February 22d. In
the second interview, the baron believes he had limited the com-

DISAPPOINTMENT AT HOME. . 395

pensation — ' half the economy ' — to three years instead of five, as
both M. Amyot and myself understood him to say. He seemed a
little troubled at this, and reproached himself for not putting it
down in writing at the time, for he had written three years to his
Government, and it was too late to rectify the matter ; but he ob
served that, if I were successful, I might rely on the liberal disposi
tion of the emperor. It is limited also to the route from St. Peters
burg to Warsaw, eight hundred miles. I wish much to see you,
and with as little delay as possible, for the time is very limited, on
account of the season of the year in which it is necessary to be in
St. Petersburg, in order to labor at all. I was so unfortunate as to
miss Dr. Gale by a single day ; he left for the South on Saturday,
and I arrrived on Sunday night. I regret this extremely, for I
wished much conversation with him on points connected with the
scientific parts of the matter. . . .

" I am quite disappointed in finding nothing done by Congress,
and nothing accomplished by way of Company. I had hoped to
find, on my return home, funds ready for prosecuting with vigor the
enterprise which I fear will suffer for this want.

" Think for a moment of my situation ! I left New York for
Europe to be gone three months, but have been gone eleven months.
My only means of support are in my profession, which I have been
compelled to abandon entirely for the present, giving my undivided
time and efforts to this enterprise. I return without a farthing in
my pocket, and have to borrow even for my meals, and, even worse
than this, I have incurred a debt of rent by my absence, which I
should have avoided had I been at home, or rather if I had been
aware that I should have been obliged to stay so long abroad. I
do not mention this in the way of complaint, but merely to show
that I have also been compelled to make great sacrifices for the
common good, and am willing yet to make more, if necessary. If
the enterprise is to be pursued, we must all in our various ways put
the shoulder to the wheel. I wish much to see you and talk over
all matters, for it seems to me that the present state of the enter
prise in regard to Russia affects vitally the whole concern."

In communicating these letters from Professor Morse, Mr.
Smith makes some observations upon the hesitation of govern
ments and individuals to perceive the splendid capabilities of
the invention : i

" In the days of the first consulship of Napoleon I., the car of

396 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

sovereignty was not so barricaded against all knowledge of rever
berating acclamations of distinguished scientists and inventors over
the advances of their respective pursuits for the benefit of mankind,
as it seems to have been in the days of Louis Philippe, liberal as he
was reputed to be, when Professor Morse was visiting Paris, to
make known the wonders of the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph. On
the 20th of March, A. D. 1800, the philosopher named Volta, in a
little village of the Milanese, announced to Sir Joseph Banks,
President of the Royal Society of England, by -letter, his beauti
ful discovery and invention of utilizing the previously miscon
ceived discovery of Galvani, regardless on his part of any special
application, but as the agent of analyzing the laws of matter and
Nature in general. To the discovery he added a description of his
device for collecting the electric force in greater quantities than
ever before accomplished, and of securing to it all the intensity of
frictional electricity, and also of retaining its action for a longer
time — this by what he designated La Couronne de Tasses, or
crown of cups. No sooner had this announcement reached France,
than Napoleon, the First Consul, instead of waiting for Volta to
voluntarily visit Paris, if ever, as a scientist and inventor of emi
nence, as did Professor Morse in 1838, most flatteringly invited
Volta to make a visit to Paris, and at the Institute explain person
ally his great invention to the Bite of European philosophers.
Accordingly, in 1801, Volta attended three meetings of the Acad
emy of Science, where he explained his theory, and the Voltaic, or,
as he called it, electro-motive action of different metals. Napoleon
attended in person these meetings ; and, when the report of the
committee on the subject was read, Napoleon proposed to suspend
the rules of the Academy, in the formalities required in conferring
honors, and that the gold medal be immediately awarded to Volta,
as a testimony of the gratitude of the philosophers of France for
his discovery ; and the proposition was carried by acclamation ; and
on the same day Napoleon ordered to be sent to Volta two thou
sand crowns from the public treasury, to defray the expenses of his
journey. He also founded an annual medal of the value of two
thousand francs to him who should give electricity, or magnetism,
by his researches, an impulse comparable to that which it received
from the discoveries of Franklin and Volta.

" The long stride which Volta laid the foundation for, though
not dreamed of for the purpose by him at the time, in the use of
electricity for telegraphic purposes in after-years, forms an interest-

LOUIS PHILIPPE AND THE FIRST CONSUL. 397

ing epoch in the history of the Telegraph, though not particularly
germane to the biography of Professor Morse.

" The contrast, however, presented in this experience of the lib
erality of Napoleon toward Vblta, and in the eight months' igno
rance by King Louis Philippe of both the invention of the Electro
magnetic Telegraph and of Professor Morse's stay in Paris, under
illusory promises of the king's cabinet ministers, and his other
many and immediate official attendants, to bring the invention to
the knowledge of the king, is not .without its moral to the American
mind. Had the scientists of France in the latter era been as near
Louis Philippe as those of France were to the First Consul, and
had the former been endowed with the same impulses as was the
latter, in the advancement of his government and people to the
zenith of national glory and greatness, who can doubt that Pro
fessor Morse's visit to Paris in 1838 would have been signaled by
the prompt construction of an Electro-magnetic Telegraph upon his
plan, through hundreds of miles of French territory, and even to
every commercial city within the confines of the nation ? In such
a case, who can doubt that France would have been foremost and
the first of governments to adopt the great invention, and to utilize
it in advance of every other people ? And, then, what years of anx
ious and even agonizing suspense would have been' saved to Pro
fessor Morse in particular, and to his associates, in the struggle to
advance the invention beyond its swaddling-clothes !

" It is foremost among the incomprehensible fatuities of man
kind, and of their varied industrial ambitions and interests, that an
invention so patent to every understanding, in its wonders and
ubiquitous powers, should have lingered on, year after year, upon
the impoverished hands of the acknowledged inventor, without in
spiring the cupidity of either capitalists or speculators, and espe
cially in a land of enterprise like the United States. But so it was,
as the sequel of Professor Morse's authenticated experience shows."

Mr. Smith wrote to Professor Morse, April 28, 1839 :

" I see nothing yet of your expose of Jackson. It is a shame
that such malignant envy and groundless pretensions should be
suffered to fatten, in any character or capacity, upon the credu
lity of the people. I could, with your means, ram him into a ten-
pounder, then discharge the wad against the first mud-wall I could
find ! I am devoting my time wholly with reference to bringing
my loose and unsettled interests and business here to such control

398 LIFE OF SAMUEL B. F. MORSE.

— winding up all that are susceptible of it — as will enable me in a
few months at farthest to take hold of the telegraph business in
good earnest, and make a business of it. I esteem it far better to
suffer it to rest, sub silentio, for a season, than to have it move in a
halting, hobbling pace. I promise myself success in a little while,
in thus putting myself in a shape to 'go ahead.' I pray God
that, in the mean time, there may be { no mistake ' about the Rus
sian embassy."

Professor Morse to Mr. Smith.

"NEW YORK May 24, 1839.

" My affairs, in consequence of my protracted absence, and the
stagnant state of the Telegraph here at home, have caused me great
embarrassment, and my whole energies have been called upon to
extricate myself from the confusion in which I have been unhappily
placed. You may judge a little of this when I tell you that my ab
sence has deprived me of my usual source of income by my profes
sion ; that the state of the University is such that I shall probably
leave, and shall have to remove into new quarters ; that my family
are dispersed, requiring my care and anxieties, under every disad
vantage ; that my engagements were such with Russia, that every
moment of my time was necessary to complete my arrangements,
to fulfil the contract in season ; and, instead of finding my associates
ready to sustain me with counsel and means, I find them all dis
persed, leaving me without the opportunity to consult, or a cent of
means, and consequently bringing every thing in relation to the
Telegraph to a dead stand. In the midst of this, I am called upon
by the state of public opinion to defend myself against the out
rageous attempt of Dr. Jackson to pirate from me my invention.
The words would be harsh that are properly applicable to this man's
conduct. He can no longer be under mistake ; he knows that he
has not the shadow of a claim to a single suggestion that belongs
to the invention. I send you my letter in the Boston Post, and
republished in the Observer. Besides the evidence of Captain Pell,
Mr. Rives, and Mr. Fisher, I have the written testimony of several
others of the passengers, which I have obtained since I saw you,
and they are all unanimous in recognizing me, and me only, in the
invention on board the Sully. They none of them could guess
the individual who pretends to the invention, and expressed utter
astonishment when informed that Dr. Jackson pretended to it.

" I have given you the darker side of objects first. This dark-

LETTER TO MR. SMITH. 399

ness enshrouds the inventor only, not the invention. Want of time
prevents me from copying out the papers relating to the Russian con
tract. It may suffice perhaps to say that I engaged to leave Europe
in the Great Western on the 23d of March, was expected to arrive
by the 5th of April, to commence the apparatus for a line of twenty
miles of telegraph, if not already commenced by my associates ; I
was to receive my advices from St. Petersburg by the ' 10th of May,'
officially recognizing the principles of the contract and negotiating
the particulars with the Russian Minister ; I engaged then to leave
America so as to reach Paris by the 1st of July, and St. Petersburg
by the 15th of July, with my French companion, M. Amyot. This
was the farthest date that could be allowed, if the Telegraph was to
be put in operation this season. You see, therefore, in what a con
dition I found myself when I returned. I was delayed several days
beyond the computed time of my arrival by the long passage of the
steamer. Instead of finding funds raised by a vote of Congress, or
by a company, and my associates ready to back me, I find not a
cent for the purpose, and my associates scattered to the four winds.
You can easily conceive that I gave all up as it regarded Russia,
and considered the whole enterprise as seriously injured if not com
pletely destroyed. In this state of things I was -hourly dreading to
hear from the Russian Minister, and devising how I should save
myself and the enterprise without implicating my associates in a
charge of neglect ; and, as it has most fortunately happened for us
all, the 10th of May has passed without the receipt of the promised
advices, and I took advantage of this, and, by the Liverpool steamer
on the 18th, wrote to the Baron Meyendorff and to M. Amyot,
that it was impossible to fulfill the engagement this season, since I
had not received the promised advices in time to prepare. I have
requested immediale advices, and promised to be in St. Petersburg
by the beginning of May, next year, to fulfill the contract. This
is the state of things in relation to Russia, in brief. I have much
to communicate, but cannot by letter. I would come on to see you
if I had the means, but I have not a copper. Now, what are im
mediately wanted are two complete sets at least of the apparatus,
the register and correspondent, and if possible twenty miles of wire,
so that every thing may be tested here at home, before I embark.
I have a most excellent workman at command, who would execute
them well and reasonably. It is at once seen how important it is
to have matters immediately under way, if it is intended to take
advantage of this Russian engagement. I wish to have every thing

400 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

in prime order, so as to surprise the czar, and for the purpose the
sooner I have the apparatus complete, the better ; indeed, if I had
five hundred dollars of my own (and it must cost much more), I
would commence operations immediately. We have ten miles of
wire already ; ten more would cost about three hundred and fifty
dollars ; and I think the other apparatus cannot cost more than one
hundred and fifty dollars. Do think of this matter, and see if means
cannot be raised to keep ahead with the American Telegraph. I
sometimes am astonished when I reflect how I have been able to
take the stand with my Telegraph in competition with my Euro
pean rivals, backed as they are with the purses of the kings, and
the wealth of their countries, while our own Government leaves me
to fight the battles for the honor of this invention, fettered hand
and foot. Thanks will be to you, not to them, if I am able to main
tain the ground occupied by the American Telegraph."

THE DAGUERREOTYPE.

After the interview between Professor Morse and M. Da
guerre, mentioned in the previous chapter, the Professor wrote
to his brothers under date of March 9, 1839 :

" You have perhaps heard of the Daguerreotype, so called from
the discoverer, M. Daguerre. It is one of the most beautiful dis
coveries of the age. I don't know if you recollect some experiments
of mine in New Haven, many years ago, when I had my painting-
room next to Professor Silliman's — experiments to ascertain if it
were possible to fix the image of the camera obscura. I was able
to produce different degrees of shade on paper, dipped into a solu
tion of nitrate of silver, by means of different degrees of light ; but,
finding that light produced dark, and dark light, I presumed the
production of a true image to be impracticable, and gave up the at
tempt. M. Daguerre has realized in the most exquisite manner this
idea.

" A few days ago I addressed a note to Mr. D., requesting as a
stranger the favor to see his results, and inviting him in turn to see
my Telegraph. I was politely invited to see them und^r these cir
cumstances, for he had determined not to show them until the Cham
bers had passed definitely on a proposition for the Government to
purchase the secret of the discovery, and make it public. The day
before yesterday, the 17th, I called on M. Daguerre at his rooms in
the Diorama, to see these admirable results. They are produced on

THE DAGUERREOTYPE. 401

a metallic surface, the principal pieces, about seven inches by five,
and they resemble aquatint engravings, for they are in simple chi-
aro-oscuro and not in colors. But the exquisite minuteness of the
delineation cannot be conceived. No painting or engraving ever
approached it. For example : in a view up the street a distant
sign would be perceived, and the eye could just discern that there
were lines of letters upon it, but so minute as not to be read with
the naked eye. By the assistance of a powerful lens, which magni
fied fifty times, applied to the delineation, every letter was clearly
and distinctly legible, and so also were the minutest breaks and lines
in the walls of the buildings and the pavements of the street. The
effect of the lens upon the picture was in a great degree like that
of the telescope in Nature. Objects moving are not impressed.
The boulevard, so constantly filled with a moving throng of pedes
trians and. carriages, was perfectly solitary, except an individual who
was having his boots brushed. His feet were of course compelled
to be stationary for some time, one being on the box of the boot
black, and the other on the ground. Consequently his boots and
legs are well defined, but he is without body or head, because these
were in motion.

"The impressions of interior views are Rembrandt perfected.
One of Mr. D.'s plates is an impression of a spider. The spider was
not bigger than the head of a large pin, but the image, magnified by
the solar microscope to the size of the palm of the hand, having been
impressed on the plate, and examined through a lens, was further
magnified, and showed a minuteness of organization hitherto not
seen to exist. You perceive how this discovery is, therefore, about
to open a new field of research in the depths of microscopic Nature.
We are soon to see if the minute has discoverable limits. The nat
uralist is to have a new kingdom to explore, as much beyond the
microscope as the microscope is beyond the naked eye. But I am
near the end of my paper, and I have unhappily to give a melan
choly close to my account of this ingenious discovery. M. Daguerre
appointed yesterday at noon to see my Telegraph. He came, and
passed more than an hour with me, expressing himself highly grati
fied at its operation. But, while he was thus employed, the great
building of the Diorama, with his own house, all his beautiful works,
his valuable notes and papers, the labor of years of experiment,
were, unknown to him, at that moment the prey of the flames. His
secret indeed is still safe with him, but the steps of his progress in
the discovery, and his valuable researches in science, are lost to the
26

402

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

scientific world. I learn that his Diorama was insured, but to what
extent I know not. I am sure all friends of science and improve
ment will unite in expressing the deepest sympathy in M. Daguerre's
loss, and the sincere hope that such a liberal sum will be awarded
him' by his Government as shall enable him in some degree at least
to recover from his loss."

In the same vessel which brought this letter the writer him
self arrived in this country, and the letter was published in the
New York Observer, April 20, 1839. In the month of June of
the same year, within four months of the date of this letter,
the French Government, Louis Philippe being the king, com
pleted its negotiations with M. Daguerre for the purchase of his
secret, that the beautiful discovery might be given to the world
for its use and enjoyment. Arago was a member of the Cham
ber of Deputies, and chairman of the committee to whom was
referred the subject. He made an elaborate report, in which
the value of the discovery was set forth, and tlie indebtedness
of the world to the discoverer. The report concluded with a
recommendation that the discoverer be rewarded by the Gov-
urement on his making public the process by which the results
were reached.

Many years before, a Frenchman named Kiepce had discov
ered the art of obtaining the outline of images, but he could not
succeed in permanently fixing them. Daguerre had received
from him the information which he had availed himself of in
making the next great step, the more important one, of perma
nently impressing them on the plate. JSTiepce and Daguerre ex
ecuted an agreement binding each other to divide between them
the advantages that might result from their discoveries. Before
any advantages were reached, Niepce died, but Daguerre recog
nized the continued validity of the contract, and was ready to
share with the son of ISTiepce the fruits of the perfected discov
ery. It was by mutual consent agreed that a pension of ten
thousand francs should be paid to them, six thousand to M.
Daguerre and four thousand to M. ISTiepce, and that the widows
of both should receive half of the pension that their husbands
had enjoyed.

This arrangement being concluded, the process was made
public. M. Daguerre hastened to put Professor Morse in pos-

EXPERIMENTS. 403

session of all the knowledge necessary to the immediate manipu
lation of the delicate process, and the Professor without delay
proceeded to put the art into practical use. His brothers, Sid
ney E. and Richard C. Morse, caused to be erected on the roof
of their new building, the northeast corner of Nassau and Beek-
man Streets, New York, " a palace for the sun," as Mr. S. E.
Morse was pleased to name it, a room with a glass roof, in which
Professor Morse experimented with the new and beautiful art.
While this building was in progress, he had pursued his experi
ments with great success in his rooms at the New York City
University on Washington Square. He says in a letter dated
February 10, 1855 :

" As soon as the necessary apparatus was made, I commenced
experimenting with it. The greatest obstacle I had to encounter
was in the quality of the plates. I obtained the common plated
copper in coils at the hardware-shops, which of course was very
thinly coated with silver, and that impure. Still I was enabled to
verify the truth of Daguerre's revelations. The first experiment
crowned with any success was a view of the Unitarian Church,
from the window on the staircase from the third story of the New
York City University. This, of course, was before the building
of the New York Hotel. It was in September, 1839. The time,
if I recollect, in which the plate was exposed to the action of light
in the camera was about fifteen minutes. The instruments, chemi
cals, etc., were strictly in accordance with the directions in Da
guerre's first book. An English gentleman, whose name at present
escapes me, obtained a copy of Daguerre's book about the same
time with myself. He commenced experimenting also. But an
American, of the name of Walcott, was very successful with a
modification of Daguerre's apparatus, substituting a metallic reflec
tor for the lens. Previous, however, to Walcott's experiments, or
rather results, my friend and colleague, Professor John W. Draper,
of the New York City University, was very successful in his inves
tigations, and with him I was engaged, for a time, in attempting
portraits.

" In my intercourse with Daguerre, I specially conversed with
him in regard to the practicability of taking portraits of living per
sons. He expressed himself somewhat skeptical as to its practica
bility, only in consequence of the time necessary for the person
to remain immovable. The time for taking an out-door view was

404 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

from fifteen to twenty minutes, and this he considered too long a
time for any one to remain sufficiently still for a successful result.
No sooner, however, had I mastered the process of Daguerre, than
I commenced to experiment, with a view to accomplish this
desirable result. I have now the results of these experiments
taken in September, or beginning of October, 1839. They are full-
length portraits of my daughter, single and also in group with
some of her young friends. They were taken out-of-doors, on the
roof of a building, in the full sunlight, and with the eyes closed.
The time was from ten to twenty minutes. About the same time
Professor Draper was successful in taking portraits, though whether
he or myself took the first portrait successfully I cannot say.1 Soon
after we commenced together to take portraits, causing a glass
building to be constructed for that purpose on the roof of the
University. As our experiments had caused us considerable ex
pense, we made a charge to those wjio sat for us to defray this
expense. Professor Draper's other duties calling him away from
the experiments, except as to their bearing on some philosophical
investigations which he pursued with great ingenuity and success,
I was left to pursue the artistic results of the process, as more in
accordance with my profession. My expenses had been great, and
for some time, five or six months, I pursued the taking of portraits
by the Daguerreotype, as a means of reimbursing these expenses.
After this object had been attained, I abandoned the practice to
give my exclusive attention to the Telegraph, which required all
my time."

Professor Morse's views of the capabilities of the art were
expressed in a letter to his friend Washington Allston :

" I am afraid you will think me remiss in complying with your
request by Mr. Hayward, but I have only this moment been able to
obtain the album of Mr. Payne, from which I have made a careful
tracing of your beautiful design of ' Danger,' and will take the earli
est opportunity to transmit it to you, with the volumes of Meng's
works also. I had hoped to have seen you long ere this, but my
many avocations have kept me constantly employed from morning
till night. When I say morning, I mean half-past four in the
morning ! I am afraid you will think me a Goth, but really the
hours from that time till twelve at noon are the richest I ever
enjoy.

1 Prof. Draper recollects distinctly that he succeeded in taking the first portrait. '

PREDICTIONS. 405

"You have heard of the Daguerreotype. I have the instru
ments on the point of completion, and if it be possible I will yet
bring them with me to Boston and show you the beautiful results
of this brilliant discovery. Art is to be wonderfully enriched by
this discovery. How narrow and foolish the idea which some ex
press that it will be the ruin of art, or rather artists, for every one
will be his own painter. One effect, I think, will undoubtedly
be to banish the sketchy, slovenly daubs that pass for spirited
and learned ; those works which possess mere general effect with
out detail, because forsooth detail destroys general effect. Nature,
in the results of Daguerre's process, has taken the pencil into her
own hands, and she shows that the minutest detail disturbs not the
general repose. Artists will learn how to paint, and amateurs, or
rather connoisseurs, how to criticise, how to look at Nature, and there
fore how to estimate the value of true art. Our studies will now
be enriched with sketches from Nature which we can store up dur
ing the summer, as the bee gathers her sweets for winter, and we
shall thus have rich materials for composition, and an exhaustless
store for the imagination to feed upon."

DAGUERRE AND ARAGO.

Immediately upon his return to New York in the spring of
1839, Prof essor Morse, being President of the National Acadejny
of Design, proposed the election, as honorary member of the
Academy, of M. Daguerre. On the same day, when he wrote
to him announcing the fact of his election, he sent the following
letter to Arago. The letters are here inserted in their connec
tion.

To Monsieur Arago.

" MY DEAR SIR : I take advantage of the visit to France of
an attache to our legation, to send you for your acceptance a copy
of Professor Henry's late contributions to electricity and magnet
ism ; and I also improve the same opportunity to express to you
my thanks for the kindness and courtesy which you showed me
when I was in Paris with my Electro-Magnetic Telegraph.

" Ever since the misfortune that befell M. Daguerre a few days
before T left Paris, and at the very hour, too, when he was with me
examining my Telegraph, I have felt a deeper interest in him, and
in his most splendid discovery, and a desire, so far as I can be of
service to him, to render him substantial aid. His discovery has

4Q6 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

excited great attention throughout the United States, and I have
thought that so soon as his remuneration shall be secured in France
and before his secret should be disclosed to the world, that we in
the United States might in some way contribute our portion of the
reward due to M. Daguerre. An exhibition (which is the mode in
this country best adapted for the purpose desired) of a few of his
admirable results in several of our cities, I am persuaded, would
yield a sum which may not be unimportant in the present state of
M. Daguerre's affairs. If, by any gratuitous services of mine in
this country in favor of M. Daguerre, I can in any degree return
the kindness and liberality I received in France, I hope M. Daguerre
and his friends will not hesitate to command me.

" Believe me, etc.
"May 20, 1839."

To Monsieur Daguerre.

•
" MY DEAR SIR : I have the honor to inclose you the note of

the secretary of our Academy, informing you of your election, at
our last annual meeting, into the body of honorary members of our
National Academy of Design. When I proposed your name, it was
received with wild enthusiasm, and the vote was unanimous. I
hope, my dear sir, you will receive this as a testimonial, not merely
of my personal esteem and deep sympathy in your late losses, but
also as a proof that your genius is in some degree estimated on this
side of the water. Notwithstanding the efforts made in England
to give to another the credit which is your due, I think I may with
confidence assure you that throughout the United States your name
alone will be associated with the brilliant discovery which justly
bears your name.

" The letter I wrote from Paris, the day after your sad loss, has
been published throughout this whole country in hundreds of jour
nals, and has excited great interest. Should any attempts be made
here to give to any other than yourself the honor of this discovery,
my pen is ever ready in your defense.

" I hope before this reaches you that the French Government,
long and deservedly celebrated for its generosity to men of genius,
will have amply supplied all your losses by a liberal sum. If, when
the proper remuneration shall have been secured to you in France,
you should think it may be to your advantage to make an arrange
ment with the Government to hold back the secret for six months
or a year, and would consent to an exhibition of your results in this

MORSE AND DAGUERRE. 407

country for a short time, the exhibition might be managed, I think,
to your pecuniary advantage. If you should think favorably of the
plan, I offer you my services gratuitously. In the mean time be
lieve me, etc.

11 May 20, 1839."

Daguerre to Morse.

"PARIS, July 26, 1839.

" MY DEAR SIK : I have received with great pleasure your kind
letter, by which you announce to me my election as an honorary
member of the National Academy of Design. I beg you will be so
good as to express my thanks to the Academy, and to say that I
am very proud of the honor which has been conferred upon me. I
shall seize all opportunities of proving my gratitude for it.

" I am particularly indebted to you in this circumstance, and I
feel very thankful for this and all the other marks of interest you
bestowed upon me. The transaction with the French Government
being nearly at an end, my discovery shall soon be made public.
This cause, added to the immense distance between us, hinders me
from taking the advantage of your good offer to get up at New
York an exhibition of my results. Believe me, my dear sir, your
very devoted servant,

" DAGUERRE."

Morse to Daguerre.

. " MY DEAR SIR : Your letter of July last, acknowledging the re
ceipt of the Academy notification of your election as an honorary
member of our body, has been received, and I am truly rejoiced that
in any manner we have been able to gratify one who has conferred
upon the world so great a boon. Allow me to congratulate you upon
the result of the action of your Government, in granting the pension
so ably and successfully solicited by that great and truly high-minded
man, M. Arago. Your nation, sir, by acts like these, shines more
brilliantly than by her achievements in arms. Let me assure you,
that in this country the remark is constantly heard in connection
with your most popular discovery, l How nobly the French Govern
ment has acted in giving this secret to the world ! ' And not less a
subject of remark is the moderation of your own demand for giving
to the world that secret, which, but for your disclosure, would, in
all probability, have remained a secret. Ever since I saw your ad
mirable results, the day before your disastrous loss, I have felt an
absorbing interest in it, and the first brochure which was opened in

408 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

America at the booksellers', containing your expose of your process,
I possess. I have been experimenting, but with indifferent success,
mostly, I believe, for the want of a proper lens. I hoped to be able
to send you by this opportunity a result, but I have not one which
I dare send you. You shall have the first that is in any degree
perfect. Will you allow me so far to trespass on your kindness as
to request you to choose for me two lenses, such as you can recom
mend ; I have requested my friend M. Lovering, of the firm of
Messrs. Edward & Co., No. 9 Rue de Clery, to receive them and pay
for them, and transmit them to me. If, after receiving the result
which I will send you, you should deem it worthy of an exchange,
I need not say how gratified I should be to receive one from your
own hand, either for myself personally, or for the National Acad
emy of Design.

"Any communication at any time will reach* me through the
house of Messrs. Edward & Co., 9 Rue de Clery, or through the
ambassador of the United States. Yours, etc.

"November 16, 1839."

His artist friends and the National Academy of Design were
on his mind and in his heart, while the Telegraph, the Photo
graph, and his own profession as a painter, were all demanding
his attention and anxious care. Thomas Sully and Washington
Allston acknowledged his letters, in which he tendered to them
the use of the Academy's gallery for the exhibition of their
paintings ; and Mr. Allston expressed his strong anxieties for
the success of his friend in his telegraphic pursuits. As the
Daguerreotype was not patented, but was free to all who would
mastei the art, a large number of young men, with the enter
prise of American youth, nocked to Professor Morse to be in
structed in the mysteries of the process, that they might trav
erse the country and reap the first fruits of its introduction.
Men of science, also, charmed with the wonderful results, pur
sued the subject with enthusiasm, and entered into correspond
ence with Professor Morse as the father of the art in the United
States. Professor E. N. Horsford writes to him from Albany,
November 18, 1840 :

" I learn, with equal astonishment and gratification, that you
have succeeded in taking likenesses in ten seconds with diffused
light. Pray reveal to me the wondrous discovery. So capricious

BARON GEROLT. 409

has our sunlight been, that we have done very little since I last
saw you."

During several years immediately succeeding, Professor
Morse was often and intently engaged in the improvement of
the photographic art, giving to the practical operators the benefit
of his studies and experiments. Many letters addressed to him
on this subject indicate the amount of time which was thus
consumed. Early in 1848 he received from Baron Gerolt the
following translation of an article from the Prussian Universal
Gazette (Allgemeine Preussische Zeitung), December 21, 1847:

" In the last session of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, MM.
Biot, Arago, and Thenard, reported a new discovery made by M.
Niepce de Saint- Victor, the same chemist who was formerly re
warded by the state, together with Daguerre, for the discovery of
the Daguerreotype. M. Niepce has discovered an action of the
iodine-vapors upon the black and white color that hitherto had been
entirely unknown. Wlien he caused iodine-vapors to pass over a
copperplate print or a lithography, or when he plunged a copper
plate print or a lithography in a solution of iodine- water, the
iodine united quicker and more intensive with the black than with
the white. When he then laid the original, prepared in this way,
with iodine, upon a paper lined with starch, and pressed it, the iodine
parted from the black and united with the starch, so that now the
original appeared upon the starch-paper in its most delicate shad-
o wings, and in the violet-blue color of the iodine. When, further
more, this paper was pressed upon a copperplate, the iodine again
parted from the starch, and now the whole drawing (print) was
fixed upon the copperplate with complete exactness. The commis
sion, which had been charged by the Academy with the examination
of the discover}'', declared that, in looking at these exact copies,
nobody could keep himself from the highest astonishment."

But nothing diverted Morse from the one great object, the
perfection of his Telegraph. Distressed by the long delay of
intelligence from Russia, and still more grieved at the indiffer
ence of his own country to the invention which was to shed
lustre upon it, as well as upon him, he wrote to Mr. Smith,
August 12, 1839 :

" I received vours of the 2d instant, and the paper accompany-

410 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

ing it, containing the notice of Mr. Chamberlain. I had previously
been apprised that my forebodings were true in regard to his fate.
We shall hear, doubtless, from Mr. Brown, when he returns, what
was done by Mr. C. in regard to the Telegraph in the East. Our
enterprise abroad is destined to give us anxiety, if not to end in
disappointment.

" I have just received a letter from M. Amyot, who was to have
been my companion to Russia, and learn from him the unwelcome
news that the emperor has decided against the Telegraph. I have
been expecting a letter from the Baron Meyendorff every day, for M.
Amyot informs me that he intended writing to me. The emperor's
objections were, it seems, that * malevolence can easily interrupt
the communication.' M. Amyot scouts the idea, and writes that
he refuted the objection to the satisfaction of the baron, who, in
deed, did not need the refutation for himself, for that whole matter
was fully discussed between us when in Paris. The baron, I should
judge from the tone of M. Amyot's letter, was much disappointed ;
yet, as a faithful and obedient subject of one whose nay is nay, he
will be cautious in so expressing himself as to be self-committed.
Thus,jny dear sir, prospects abroad look dark. I turn with some
faint hope to my own country again. Will Congress do any thing ?
Or, are my time, your generous zeal, and pecuniary sacrifice, to end
only in disappointment ? If so, T can bear it for myself, but I feel it
more keenly for those who have been engaged with me for years —
for the Messrs. Vail and Dr. Gale. But I will yet hope. I don't
know that our enterprise looks darker than Fulton's once appeared.
There is no intrinsic difficulty — the depressing causes are extrin
sic. I hope to see you soon, and talk over all our affairs. You
wish me to bring the telegraph with me. In the hope of doing
this, I have delayed my journey for some days, and shall endeavor
to bring the new instrument, which has been unavoidably retarded
by the mechanician. My present purpose is to leave for the East
on this day week (Monday), and probably by Saturday or the Mon
day following may see you in Portland."

Unavoidable hinderances intervened, and he did not make
his promised journey. Mr. Smith says :

" The allusion made in the letter just given, to the fate of Mr.
Chamberlain, was another depressing disappointment which occurred
to the Professor contemporaneously with those of the Russian
contract. Before I left Paris we had closed a contract with Mr.

TELEGRAPH IN EUROPE. 411

Chamberlain to carry the telegraph to Austria, Prussia, the prin
cipal cities of Greece and of Egypt, and put it upon exhibition
with a view to its utilization there. He was an American gentle
man (from Vermont, I think), of large wealth, of eminent business
capacities, of pleasing personal address, and sustaining a character
for strict integrity. He parted with Professor Morse, in Paris, to
enter upon his expedition, with high expectations of both pleasure
and profit, shortly after my own departure from Paris, in October,
1838. He had subsequently apprised Professor Morse of very in
teresting exhibitions of the telegraph which he had made, and
under date of l Athens, January 5, 1839,' wrote as follows :

" 'We exhibited your telegraph to the learned of Florence,
much to their gratification. Yesterday evening the King and
Queen of Greece were highly delighted with its performance. We
had shown it also to the principal inhabitants of Athens, by all of
whom it was much admired. Fame is all you will get for it in
these poor countries. We think of starting in a few days for
Alexandria, and hope to get something worth having from Mehemet
Ali. It is, however, doubtful. Nations appear as poor as indi
viduals, and as unwilling to risk their money upon such matters.
I hope the French will avail themselves of the benefits you offer
them. It is truly strange that it is not grasped at with more
avidity. If I can do any thing in Egypt, I will try Turkey and
St. Petersburg.' "

In the letter communicating the above intelligence, Pro
fessor Morse also wrote as follows:

" In another letter from Mr. Chamberlain to Mr. Lovering, dated
Syra, January 9th, he says : 4 The pretty little Queen of Greece was
delighted with Morse's telegraph. The string which carried the
cannon-ball used for a weight broke, and came near falling on her
Majesty's toes, but happily missed, and we, perhaps, escaped a
prison. My best respects to Mr. Morse, and say 1 shall ask Me
hemet Ali for a purse, a beauty from his seraglio, and something
else.' I will add that, if he will bring me the purse just now, I
can dispense with the beauty and the something else."

Early in July of the same year intelligence was received of
a fatal calamity that occurred on the Danube, in which six of a
select party of nine gentlemen on a boat-excursion of pleasure
were drowned, and of which Mr. Chamberlain was one. On
July 29, 1839, Professor Morse wrote as follows :

412 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" Our hopes from that quarter are thus darkened by this melan
choly event, and in all probability (unless Mr. Brown, when he
returns, can give us information) we shall not know what has been
done with the Telegraph in Constantinople, or Egypt."

These numerous discouragements to the Professor's ardent
hopes for progress with the Telegraph, poverty, the failure
of the Russian contract, the annoyance of Dr. Jackson's pre
tensions to the invention, the progress of Wheatstone in Eng
land and Steinheil in Bavaria, with their rival projects, the
death of Mr. Chamberlain in the East, and the seeming imper
turbable torpor of the American mind on the Telegraph, con
curred in depressing his spirits grievously, and there were times
when it appeared not unlikely that he would sink beneath the
accumulated pressure of anxiety, disappointment, and want.

On the 14th of November, 1839, he wrote to his partner,
Mr. Vail, in these despondent words :

" As to the Telegraph, I have been compelled from necessity to
apply myself to those duties which yield immediate pecuniary re
lief. I feel the pressure as well as others, and, having several pu
pils at the University, I must attend to them. Nevertheless, I shall
hold myself ready in case of need to go to Washington during the
next session with it. The one I was constructing is completed ex
cept the rotary batteries, and the pen-and-ink apparatus, which I
shall soon find time to add if required.

" Mr. Smith expects me in Portland, but I have not the means
to visit him. The telegraph of Wheatstone is going ahead in Eng
land, even with all its complication. So I presume is the one of
Steinheil in Bavaria. Whether ours is to be adopted depends on
the Government or on a company, and the times are not favorable
for the formation of a company. Perhaps it is the part of wisdom
to let the matter rest and watch for an opportunity when times look
better, and which I hope will be soon."

And to Mr. Smith he wrote in the same spirit, November
20, 1839 :

I feel the want of that sum which Congress ought to have ap
propriated two years ago, to enable me to compete with my Euro
pean rivals. Wheatstone and Steinheil have money for their pro
jects, the former by a company, and the latter by the King of Bava-

COOKE AND WHEATSTONE. 413

ria. Is there any national feeling with us on the subject ? I will
not say there is not, until after the next session of Congress. But
if there is any cause for national exultation in being not merely first
in the invention as to time, but best, too, as decided by a foreign
tribunal, ought the inventor to be suffered to work with his hands
tied ? Is it honorable to the nation to boast of its inventors, to con
tend for the credit of their inventions, as national property, and not
lift a finger to assist them to perfect that of which they boast? But
I will not complain for myself — I can bear it, because I made up my
mind from the very first for this issue, the common fate of all invent
ors. But I do not feel so agreeable in seeing those who have in
terested themselves in it, especially yourself, suffer also. Perhaps
I look too much on the unfavorable side. I often thus look, not to
discourage others, or myself, but to check those too sanguine ex
pectations which, with me, would rise to an inordinate height un
less thus reined in and disciplined.

" Shall you not be in New York soon ? I wish much to see you
and to concoct plans for future operations. I am at present much
straitened in means, or I should yet endeavor to see you in Port
land ; but I must yield to necessity, and hope another season to be
in different and more prosperous circumstances.

The following letter, under date of March 23, 1840, in
closed copies of two letters, one from Mr. "Wm. F. Cooke, and
the other from his partner, Professor C. Wheatstone, the invent
ors and patentees of the English needle system of Electric Tele
graphs in England, proposing a consolidation of the two sys
tems, Professor Morse's and their own, in the United States :

" I send you copies of two letters just received from England.
What shall I say in answer ? Can we make any arrangements with
them? Need we do it? Does not our patent secure us against
foreign interference ? Or are we to be defeated not only in Eng
land, but in our country, by the subsequent inventions of Wheat-
stone ? I feel my hands tied. I know not what to say. Do advise
immediately, so that I can send by the British Queen, which sails
on the 1st prox. I feel that, if funds and a company, or our Gov
ernment, would sustain our operations, something yet could be made
for all of us. The success of Electric Telegraphs is, you perceive,
put beyond doubt. If we could make a reciprocal request for our
Telegraph for England, perhaps it would do. I only suggest it.

" I received a letter from M. Amyot, in Paris, a few days ago.

414 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

advising me that he had constructed one of my Telegraphs, with
some improvements, and intrusted it to the Baron Meyendorff, at
his earnest request, to carry with him to St. Petersburg to show it
to the emperor. I also received a line from the baron, asking my
approval of the course taken, urging that, if the emperor could see
it in action, he might change his mind. I wrote each by the Great
Western, approving the course taken, not having time to advise with
any of my associates previous to writing."

The letters of Professor Wheatstone and Mr. Cooke are as
follows :

" SUSSEX COTTAGE, NEAR LONDON, January 17, 1840.
"Professor F. B. MORSE, of the New York City University, JV. T.

" SIK : I address you on the subject of the Electro-Magnetic Tele
graph, of which, as you are aware, Professor Wheatstone and my
self are patentees in this country. We consider that its efficacy
and value are now fully established here. It is in constant and suc
cessful operation for a distance of twelve or thirteen miles upon the
Great Western Railway, and we are about to lay it down, under
Mr. Robert Stevenson's sanction, upon the Blackwall Railway, a line
on which its certainty of action may be essential to the success of
the undertaking.

" It has always been our wish and intention to introduce this
invention into the United States, and with that view we made
arrangements rather more than two years ago with three American
gentlemen for taking out a patent there. In consequence of their
not having done so, we are under the necessity of entering into a
new arrangement ; and I have therefore to propose that you should
join us upon similar terms, viz., that you should be entitled to a
half share of our American patent, upon exerting yourself to obtain
it, and bearing all expenses connected with the invention so far as
regards the United States. Your own patent, if you have obtained
one, and all improvements which may be made by either party during
either patent-right, should be put upon the same footing, so far as
regards the whole continuance of any United States patents which
may be obtained for them. Should you be disposed to entertain
this proposal, it will probably be necessary for you to obtain an act
of Congress to sanction the granting of the patent later than six
months after the enrollment of the specifications of our English
patents of 1837 and 1838 ; but Mr. Stevenson, the American Minis
ter, thinks that such an act might be obtained, and we presume

MR. WHEATSTONE'S PROPOSAL. 415

that the expense of it would be inconsiderable in comparison with
the value of the invention.

" My agreement with Mr. Wheatstone has thrown upon me the
management of this business ; but I also indorse a letter which he
has written to you upon the same subject. Requesting the favor
of a reply at your early convenience,

" I remain sir, your obedient servant,

F. COOKE."

" P. S. — We have recently obtained a third English patent (it is
to be sealed in a day or two) for very important improvements
which have not yet been specified, so important indeed that we
think an American patent for them alone might be a valuable one.

"W. F. C."

"KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON, January 17, 1840.
u Professor F. B. MORSE, New York.

" DEAR SIR : For the reasons mentioned in Mr. Cooke's letter,
it is necessary we should make fresh arrangements for the introduc
tion of the improvements on the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph, for
which we have obtained several English patents, into the United
States. I have recommended that the application shall, in the first
instance, be made to you, on account of the great attention you
have already paid to the same subject, and that you might have the
merit of introducing into America the only invention of the kind of
which the success has been put beyond all doubt. It is our pres
ent intention to take out a patent in the United States for a new
Telegraph arrangement totally different to that you have seen,
which has occupied me almost entirely during the last twelve months
in bringing to completion ; and for which, with other improvements,
we have just obtained a new English patent. This, of itself, would
be extremely valuable ; but, if you united with us in asking for the
privilege, less difficulty would be experienced in obtaining an act of
Congress to include our already published inventions, which, on ac
count of the neglect of the parties with whom we formerly agreed,
it would now be necessary to do ; the same act might also include
whatever you have done. Mr. Stevenson informs me that such an
act will be readily granted.

" If any agreement should be entered into between us, as a mat
ter of course, all expenses to which you may be put, in obtaining a
patent or an act of Congress, would be deducted from the first pro
ceeds. We will undertake to furnish you with any instruments you

416 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

may require, the expenses being defrayed by yourself, and to give
you every information our experience has put us in possession of.
" I remain, dear sir, yours very truly,

(Signed) " C. WHEATSTONE."

This proposition was declined without hesitation, but its ef
fect was to stimulate the inventor to increased diligence to se
cure his rights, and to bring his own system into early use. As
time wore away, and foreign enterprise in European countries
slowly pushed the feeble systems of Wheatstone and Steinheil
upon the public, an occasional scintillation of interest in the Tel
egraph in this country shot up to the watchful vision of Pro
fessor Morse, reinspiring hope, but, like the aurora borealis, again
falling from sight below the horizon. The following letters to
Mr. Smith will trace some of these tantalizing flickerings through
his mind :

"August 16, 1841. — Our Telegraph matters are in a situation
to do none of us any good, unless some understanding can be en
tered into among the proprietors. I have recently received a letter
from Mr. Isaac N. Coffin, from Washington, with a commendatory
letter from Hon. R. McClellan, of the House. Mr. Coffin proposes to
take upon himself the labor of urging through the two Houses the
bill relating to my Telegraph, which you know has long been before
Congress. He will press it and let his compensation depend on his
success. He says : ' I will attend to the claim most vigorously at
the usual compensation of a commission on the amount in case it is
obtained, and if not obtained, even after many years of trouble,
time, expense, and fatigue, nothing, or no remuneration, will be
asked if not obtained.'

" I have also other propositions from private individuals to put
down a line for the distance of about 120 miles ; they are men of
capital who have opened their eyes to the advantages of the enter
prise, and I know not what to say, for I have no authority to act
except for myself. I wish I could see you. Would it not be well
to let the first line be established without asking patent fees, in or
der to encourage others, for, if one line is successfully established,
others will follow, and the enterprise will, after so long delay, pro
duce us something ? Please write and tell me what to do. Give
me u power of attorney to act for you, if you cannot come on con
veniently ; I promise to do as well as I can, and yet I should prefer

CRIPPLED IN MEANS. 417

to have your business tact at hand to see that I did not defraud my
self.

" You may wish to know the condition of the instruments, etc.
I have the instruments, two registers and two correspondents, nearly
completed at my brother's expense, who owns them, but will of
course loan them as long as we wish, or sell them at cost, to us, for
he procured them solely to encourage the matter. I have said
nearly completed. The instruments want the mounting of the mag
nets, pens, paper-rolls, etc., and the glass cases to protect the
work from the dust, etc. I have not the means to proceed with
them. I am endeavoring to accumulate a little, that I may see at
least one line, even if it be but a few miles, in successful operation.
4 The destruction of the poor is their poverty ; ' so says Solomon,
and it is true. But I think there is land ahead, and, if the matter
could but be pressed in the proper quarter, we should each of us
realize all that the most sanguine of us anticipated."

"December 3, 1841. — I have just received another letter from
Mr. Isaac N. Coffin, from Washington, in relation to the Telegraph.
I gave him to understand, last summer, that I was favorable to his
propositions, but that I could do nothing without consulting the
other proprietors. From you I received a definite answer, and
power to propose certain terms, but not from Mr. Alfred Vail, who
wished to consult his brother. It is, perhaps, my fault that he has
not answered definitely, as I perceive, on recently reading his letter,
he waited for a reply to my letter, so I have not a power of attorney
to act for him. From Dr. Gale I expect one in a few days. In
deed, my dear sir, something ought to be done to carry forward this
enterprise, that we all may receive what I think we all deserve.
The whole labor and expense of shoving at all devolves on me, and
I have nothing in the world. Completely crippled in means, I have
scarcely (indeed, I have not at all) the means to pay even the post
age of letters on the subject. I feel it most tantalizing to find that
there is a movement in Washington on the subject — to know that
Telegraphs will be before Congress this session, and, from the means
possessed by Gonon and Wheatstone (yes, Wheatstone who suc
cessfully headed us in England !), one or the other of these two plans
will probably be adopted. Wheatstone, I suppose you know, has a
patent here, and has expended a thousand dollars to get every thing
prepared for a campaign to carry his project into operation, and, more
than this, his patent is dated before mine ! My dear sir, to speak as
I feel, I am sick at heart to perceive how easily others, foreigners,
27

418 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

can manage our Congress, and can contrive to cheat our country
out of the honor of a discovery of which the country boasts, and
our countrymen out of the profits which are our due ; to perceive
how easily they can find men and means to help them in their plans,
and how difficult, nay, impossible for us to find either. Is it really
so ? Or am I deceived ? What can be done ? Do write imme
diately, and propose something. Will you not be in Washington
this winter ? Will you not call on me as you pass through New
York, if you do go ?

" Gonon has his telegraph on the Capitol, and a committee of
the Senate reported in favor of trying his for a short distance, and
will pass a bill this session, if we are not doing something, Some
means, somehow, must be raised. I have been compelled to stop
my machine just at the moment of competition. I cannot move a
step without running in debt, and that I cannot do.

" As to the company that was thought of to carry the Telegraph
into operation here, it is another of those ignesfatui that have just
led me to waste a little more time, money, and patience, and then
vanished. The gentleman who proposed the matter was doubtless
friendly disposed, but he lacks judgment and perseverance in a
matter of this sort.

" If Congress would but pass the bill of thirty thousand dollars
before them, there would be no difficulty. There is no difficulty in
the scientific or mechanical part of the matter — that is a problem
solved. The only difficulty that remains is, in obtaining the funds
which Congress can furnish, to carry it into execution. I have a great
deal to say, but must stop for want of time to write more. Every
thing done by me in regard to the Telegraph is at arm's-length. I
can do nothing without consultation, and, when I write to consult on
the most trivial thing, I have three letters to write, and a week or
ten days to wait before I can receive an answer. I feel at times
almost ready to cast the whole matter to the winds, and turn my
attention forever from the subject. Indeed, I feel almost induced
at times to destroy the evidences of priority of invention in my pos
session, and let Wheatstone and England take the credit of it. For
it is tantalizing in the highest degree to find the papers and the
lecturers boasting of the invention as one of the greatest of the age,
and as an honor to America, and yet to have the nation, by its rep
resentatives, leave the inventor without either the means to put the
invention fairly before his countrymen, or to defend himself against
foreign attacks ! If I had the means in any way of support in Wash-

PROFESSOR HENRY. 419

ington this winter, I would go on in the middle of January and
push the matter ; but I cannot run the risk. I would write a de
tailed history of the invention, which would be an interesting docu
ment to have printed in the congressional documents, and establish
beyond contradiction both priority and superiority of my invention.
Has not the Postmaster-General, or Secretary of War, or Treasury,
the power to pay a few hundred dollars from a contingent fund for
such a purpose ?

" Whatever becomes of the invention through the neglect of
those who could but will not lend a helping hand, you, my dear
sir, will have the reflection that you did all in your power to aid
me, and I am deterred from giving up the matter as desperate, most
of all from the consideration that those who kindly lent their aid
when the invention was in its infancy, would suffer, and therefore
I should not be dealing right by them. If this is a little blue, for
give it."

During the absence of Professor Morse in Europe in the
winter of 1838-'39, Ms partner Dr. Gale had lent to Professor
Henry, of Princeton, a reel or spool of Professor Morse's Tele
graph wire five miles in length, with which Professor Henry
made some interesting scientific experiments at Princeton. The
results of these were reported by him in a paper read before the
American Philosophical Society, November 2, 1838, and pub
lished early in 1839, under the title of " Contributions to Elec
tricity and Magnetism." Says Professor Morse : " On my return
from Europe, I found awaiting me a copy of Professor Hen
ry's ' Contributions,' directed to f Professor Morse, with the
respects of the author.' I had returned from Europe in the
expectation of proceeding within five or six weeks to Russia,
under a contract with a Russian Government agent in Paris —
the Baron Meyendorff — to establish the Telegraph in that coun
try. Dr. Gale, my confidential scientific friend, had sailed for
New Orleans on the very day of my return. I could not there
fore have my usual consultations with him, for I was naturally
anxious to review and revise all the scientific facts that lay at
the foundation of my invention, to make assurance doubly sure,
before risking in a foreign country either my own or my coun
try's reputation by possible failure. In this conjuncture I wrote
the following letter to Professor Henry :

420 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" ' NEW YORK, April 24, 1839.

" c MY DEAR SIR : On my return, a few days since, from Europe,
I found directed to me, through your politeness, a copy of your
valuable " Contributions," for which I beg you to accept my warm
est thanks. The various cares consequent upon so long an absence
from homeland which have demanded my more immediate attention,
have prevented me from more than a cursory perusal of its inter
esting contents ; yet I -perceive many things of great interest to me
in my telegraphic enterprise. I was glad to learn, by a letter re
ceived in Paris, from Dr. Gale, that a spool of five miles of my wire
was loaned to you, and I perceive that you have already made some
interesting experiments with it. In the absence of Dr. Gale, who
has gone South, I feel a great desire to consult some scientific gen
tleman on points of importance bearing upon my Telegraph which
I am about to establish in Russia, being under an engagement with
the Russian Government agent in Paris to return to Europe for
that purpose in a few weeks. I should be exceedingly happy to
see you, and am tempted to break away from my absorbing engage
ments here to find you at Prin-ceton. In case I should be able to
visit Princeton for a few days, a week or two hence, how should I
find you engaged ? I should come as a learner, and could bring no
" contributions " to your stock of experiments of any value, nor any
means of furthering your experiments, except, perhaps, the loan of
an additional five miles of wire which it may be desirable for you
to have.

" * I have many questions to ask, but should be happy, in your reply
to this letter, of an answer to this general one : Have you met with
any facts in your experiments, thus far, that would lead you to think
that my mode of Telegraphic communication will prove impracti
cable ? So far as I have consulted the savants of Paris, they have
suggested no insurmountable difficulties. I have, however, quite
as much confidence in your judgment, from your valuable experience,
as in that of any one I have met abroad. I think that you have
pursued an original course of experiment, and discovered facts of
more value to me than any that have been published abroad. I
will not trouble you at this time with my questions until I know
your engagements. Accompanying this is a copy of a report, made
by the Academy of Industry, of Paris, on my Telegraph, which I
beg you to accept. Believe me, dear sir, with the highest respect,
your most obedient servant,

" < SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

« i TO Professor JOSEPH HENRY^ Princeton? "

HENRY TO MORSE. 421

" To this letter I received the following reply :

" ' PRINCETON, May 6, 1839.

" ' DEAR SIR : Your favor of the 24th ult. came to Princeton
during my absence, which will account for the long delay of my
answer. I am pleas'ed to learn that you fully sanction the loan
which I obtained from Dr. Gale, of your wire, and I shall be happy
if any of the results are found to have a practical bearing on the
Electrical Telegraph. It will give me much pleasure to see you in
Princeton after this week ; my engagements will not then interfere
with our communications on the subject of electricity. During this
week I shall be almost constantly engaged with a friend in some
scientific labors which we are prosecuting together. I am acquainted
with no fact which would lead me to suppose that the project of
the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph is impracticable ; on the contrary,
I believe that science is now ripe for the application, and that there
are no difficulties in the way, but such as ingenuity and enterprise
may obviate. But what form of the apparatus, or what application
of the power will prove best, can, I believe, be only determined by
careful experiment. I can say, however, that, so far as I am ac
quainted with the minutiae of your plan, I see no practical difficulty
in the way of its application for comparatively short distances ; but
if the length of the wire between the stations be great, I think that
some other modification will be found necessary, in order to develop
a sufficient power at the farther end of the line. I shall, however,
be happy to converse freely with you on these points when we meet.
In the mean time I remain, with much respect, yours, etc.,

" ' JOSEPH HENRY.
" ' To Professor MORSE.'

" A few days after the receipt of this letter, I visited him, having
prepared beforehand a few questions, the better to economize his
time :

" Questions prepared to ask Professor Henry, and shown him in
my visit May, 1839, and his answers, on reading them to him.

" ' 1. Have you any reason to think that magnetism cannot be
induced in soft iron, at the distance of a hundred miles or more,
by a single impulse, or from a single battery apparatus ? ' ' No.'

" ' 2. Suppose that a horseshoe magnet of soft iron, of a given
size, receive its maximum of magnetism by a given number of coils
around it, of wire, or of ribbon, and by a given sized battery, or

422 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

number of batteries, at a given distance from the battery, does a
succession of magnets introduced into the circuit diminish the mag
netism in each ? ' * No'.'

" ' 3. Have you ascertained the law which regulates the proportion
of quantity and intensity from the voltaic battery, necessary to over
come the resistance of the wire in long distances, in inducing mag
netism in soft iron ? ' ' Ohm has determined it.'

" ' 4. Is it quantity or intensity which has most effect in inducing
magnetism in soft iron ? ' ' Quantity with short, intensity with long

A few days after receiving Professor Henry's kind invita
tion, Professor Morse went to Princeton, and, passing the after
noon and evening with the great philosopher, returned the next
morning to New York. Previous to this time Professor Morse
had successfully operated his telegraph in New York, London,
and Paris, before the most learned, scientific, and distinguished
men of the age. Statesmen, engineers, philosophers, and me
chanics, had minutely examined it, and pronounced it original,
practicable, and successful. Its claims had already been com
pared with all other telegraphic inventions, and its superiority
demonstrated and confessed. Two years after Professor Morse
first consulted with Professor Henry, he received from him the
following letter :

Professor Henry to Professor Morse.

"PRINCETON COLLEGE, February 24, 1842.

"My DEAE SIR: I am pleased to learn that you have again
petitioned Congress, in reference to your telegraph, and I most
sincerely hope you will succeed in convincing our representatives
of the importance of the invention. In this you may, perhaps, find
some difficulty, since, in the minds of many, the electro-magnetic
telegraph is associated with the various chimerical projects con
stantly presented to the public, and particularly with the schemes
so popular a year or two ago, for the application of electricity as a
moving power in the arts. I have asserted, from the first, that all
attempts of this kind are premature, and made without a proper
knowledge of scientific principles. The case is, however, entirely
different in regard to the electro-magnetic telegraph. Science is
now fully ripe for this application, and I have not the least doubt,
if proper means be afforded, of the perfect success of the invention.

PROFESSOR HENRY'S OPINION. 433

" The idea of transmitting intelligence to a distance, by means
of electrical action, has been suggested by various persons, from the
time of Franklin to the present ; but until within the last few years,
or since the principal discoveries in electro-magnetism, all attempts
to reduce it to practice were necessarily unsuccessful. The mere
suggestion, however, of a scheme of tin's kind is a matter for which
little credit can be claimed, since it is one which would naturally
arise in the mind of almost any person familiar with the phenomena
of electricity ; but the bringing it forward at the proper moment,
when the developments of science are able to furnish the means
of certain success, and the devising a plan for carrying it into prac
tical operation, are the grounds of a just claim to scientific reputa
tion as well as to public patronage.

" About the same time with yourself, Professor Wheatstone, of
London, and Dr. Steinheil, of Germany, proposed plans of the elec
tro-magnetic telegraph ; but these differ as much from yours as the
nature of the common principle would well permit ; and, unless some
essential improvements have lately been made in these European
plans, I SHOULD PREFER THE ONE INVENTED BY YOURSELF.

" With my best wishes for your success, I remain, with much
esteem, yours truly,

"JOSEPH HENRY.
"Professor MORSE."

This was the most encouraging communication Professor
Morse received during the dark ages between 1839 and
1843.

The perfect indifference of his countrymen, and the impos
sibility of success without aid, overwhelmed him. A young
artist speaks of his finding the rooms of Professor Morse while
in search of apartments for his own use :

" In the spring of 1841 I was searching for a studio in which to
set up my easel. My ' house-hunting ' ended at the New York
University, where I found what I wanted in one of the turrets of
that stately edifice. When I had fixed my choice, the janitor, who
accompanied me in my examination of the rooms, threw open a
door on the opposite side of the hall and invited me to enter. I
found myself in what was evidently an artist's studio, but every
object in it bore indubitable signs of unthrift and neglect. The
statuettes, busts, and models of various kinds, were covered with
dust and cobwebs; dusty canvases were faced to the wall, and

424

OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

stumps of brushes and scraps of paper littered the floor. The only
signs of industry consisted of a few masterly crayon drawings and
little luscious studies of color pinned to the wall. ' You will have
an artist for your neighbor,' said the janitor, * though he is not here
much of late ; he seems to be getting rather shiftless, he is wasting
his time over some silly invention, a machine by which he expects
to send messages from one place to another. He is a very good
painter, and might do well if he would only stick to his business ;
but, Lord ! ' he added, with a sneer of contempt, ' the idea of telling
by a little streak of lightning what a body is saying at the other
end of it ! ' Judge of my astonishment when he informed me that
the ' shiftless individual,' whose foolish waste of time so much excited
his commiseration, was none other than the President of the National
Academy of Design — the most exalted position, in my youthful
artistic fancy, it was possible for mortal to attain — S. F. B. Morse,
since much better known as the inventor of the Electric Telegraph.
But a little while after this his fame was flashing through the
world, and the unbelievers who. voted him insane were forced to
confess that there was at least ' method in his madness.' "

General Strother, of Virginia, "Porte Crayon," in one of
his pen-pictures, shows the state of Professor Morse's private
treasury during these years :

" I engaged to become Morse's pupil, and subsequently went
to New York and found him in a room in University Place. He
had three other pupils, and I soon found that our professor had
very little patronage. I paid my fifty dollars ; that settled for one
quarter's instruction. Morse was a faithful teacher, and took as much
interest in our progress as — more, indeed, than — we did ourselves.
But he was very poor. I remember that when my second quarter's
pay was due my remittance from home did not come as expected,
and one day the professor came in, and said, courteously :

" ' Well, Strother, my boy, how are we off for money ? '

" ' Why, professor,' I answered, ' I am sorry to say I have been
disappointed ; but I expect a remittance next week.'

"'Next week!' he repeated, sadly; «I shall be dead by that
time.'

"'Dead, sir?'

" ' Yes, dead by starvation ! '

" I was distressed and astonished. I said, hurriedly :

" ' Would ten dollars be of any service ? '

THE LOWEST POINT. 425

" ' Ten dollars would save my life ; that is all it would do.'

" I paid the money, all that I had, and we dined together. It
was a modest meal, but good, and, after he had finished, he said :

" ' This is my first meal for twenty-four hours. Strother, don't
be an artist. It means beggary. Your life depends upon people
who know nothing of your art, and care nothing for you. A house
dog lives better, and the very sensitiveness that stimulates an artist
to work, keeps him alive to suffering.'

" I remained with Professor Morse three years, and then we
separated. Some time afterward I met him on Broadway, one
day. He was about the same as before, a trifle older, and somewhat
ruddier. I asked him how he was getting along with his painting,
and he told me that he had abandoned it; that he had something
better, he believed ; and told me about the proposed telegraph. I
accompanied him to his room, and there found several miles of wire
twisted about, and the battery ^ which he explained to me. His
pictures, finished and unfinished, were lying about covered with
dust. Shortly afterward Congress made an appropriation, and
Morse was on the high-road to wealth and immortality."

Professor Morse's letters to Mr. Tail, during this crisis in
the life of the Telegraph and its inventor, are full of the same
fears and hopes that were revealed in those to Mr. Smith. He

says:

" I have been compelled to apply myself to those duties which
yield immediate pecuniary relief. I feel the pressure as well as
others, and having several pupils at the University I must attend
to them. Nevertheless, I shall hold myself ready to go to Wash
ington during the next session with the instrument. The one I
was constructing is completed, except the rotary batteries and the
pen-and-ink apparatus, which I shall soon find time to adapt if re
quired. I hear not a word from Mr. Smith, and have not for sev
eral months ; he, perhaps, expects me in Portland, but I have not
the means to visit him. The telegraph of Wheatstone is going
ahead in England, even with all its complications. So I presume
is the one of Steinheil in Bavaria. Whether ours is to be adopted
depends on the Government, or on a company, and the times are(
not favorable for the formation of a company. Perhaps it is the
part of wisdom to let the matter rest, and watch for an opportunity
when times look better, and which I hope will be soon.

" September 7, 1840. — I am tied hand and foot through the day

426 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

endeavoring to realize something from the Daguerreotype portrait.
... As to the telegraph I know not what to say. I suppose some
thing might be done in Washington next session, if I or some of
you would go on, but I have expended so much time in vain there
and in Europe, that I feel almost discouraged from pressing it any
further — only, however, from want of funds. I have none myself,
and I dislike to ask of the rest of you. You are all so scattered,
that there is no consultation, and I am under the necessity of
attending to duties which will give me the means of living.
The reason of its not being in operation is not the fault of the in
vention, nor is it my neglect — my faith is not only unshaken in its
eventual adoption throughout the world, but it is confirmed by
every new discovery in the science of electricity."

The year 1840 was made memorable in the history of the
American Electro-Magnetic Telegraph by the actual issue of
the first patent to Samuel F. B. Morse. In the spring of the
year Professor Morse addressed this letter to the Commissioner
of Patents, his old friend and classmate :

" NEW YORK, May 2, 1840.
" Son. H. L. ELLSWOKTH, Commissioner, etc.

" MY DEAK SIB : I have never received my patent-papers from
your office. I believe there was something to be done on my part,
in relation to a drawing for one of the duplicates, which I was pre
vented from accomplishing by the necessity of preparing suddenly
for my visit to Europe, with the Telegraph. I have nearly com
pleted an improved apparatus, for which I intend to take out a
patent, adding it to my patent already executed, as an improvement.
I should long since have visited Washington with my apparatus,
and asked for some action upon the matter by Congress, but for the
low state of financial aifairs, private and public. So far as the ap
probation of the scientific and mechanical world goes, I have had
the gratification of having it loudly and substantially expressed,
that my Telegraph is the best of all that had been examined. But
while in England the very complicated and deficient apparatus of
Wheatstone is carried into operation by a wealthy company for
thirteen miles, and is in further progress, and while the Telegraph
of Steinheil, at Munich, is adopted, and is carried into effect by
the Bavarian Government, I am fettered and prevented from bring
ing the American Telegraph (the first invented, as dates conclu
sively show, and the lest, according to the opinion of the best judges

THE FIRST PATENT. 437

of the case here and in Europe, as I can also show) into operation
for want of a little assistance from our Government. I was first
encouraged to offer my Telegraph to the Government by letters
from the Secretary of the Treasury, drawing my attention to the
subject, then by the report of the committees in Congress, to whom
the subject was referred, and by the report of a bill for a sum suffi
cient to test its practicability. I have been hoping that an inven
tion which is to succeed just as surely as steam-traveling has suc
ceeded, an invention which is truly an American invention, would
be in a sense adopted by the Government, and an opportunity given
me to bring it forth, in full operation, to the honor of the country.
I have spent time, strength, and money, to accomplish this ; have
been exercised with the alternate hopes and disappointments of an
inventor ; and, unless something is done to help me forward, the
more wealthy Englishmen will have it in their power not merely to
deprive me of the profit of my discovery in my own country, as they
have already in their own, by a gross act of injustice, but, as in the
case of Halley's quadrant, the Telegraph will be an English, not an
American invention.

" I could tell you a long story on this point, but long stories are
not for gentlemen in official stations, who have their time often too
thoughtlessly consumed by the intrusion of time-killers. Please tell
me what I am to do in order to have my letters-patent for the
Telegraph, and I will do it.

" Your old friend and classmate,

" SAMUEL F. B. MORSE."

The Commissioner returned this answer :

" PATENT-OFFICE, May 14, 1840.

" Sm : The specifications and drawings of your alleged improve
ment, in the mode of communicating signals by the application of
Electro-Magnetism, are herewith returned to you, the explanatory
reference in the same not being sufficient to properly illustrate the
invention. Some annotations, pointing out the parts where these
are wanting, are marked in pencil in the margin of the description.

" Your favor of the 2d inst. has been received, in reply to which
the office has to state that the delay attending the granting of your
application has not been caused by any want of attention on its
part. Some two years since, when your patent was about being
issued, a request was made by you that the case might be post
poned, until you should have received letters-patent from the Euro-

423 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

pean governments. This request was complied with ; and, as no
communication has been received from you since, in relation to the
issuing of the patent, the case has been permitted to lie over. The
patent will be issued, however, immediately on the return of the
papers. H. L. ELLSWORTH.

"Professor S. F. B. MORSE, New York City, N. Y."

The corrections suggested by the Commissioner having been
made, and the duplicate set of drawings prepared, Mr. Morse
returned them to the Patent-Office, with this letter to the Com
missioner :

" NEW YORK, May 18, 1840.

" DEAR SIR : I herewith return you the specifications of my
telegraphic invention, which you sent me to correct, and to add a
duplicate set of drawings. I hope all will be found correct. My
improvements shall be specified and accompanied with drawings,
and sent you as soon as I can complete the new apparatus, which
is in progress, and which I hoped to have had the pleasure of show
ing you in Washington this spring. But it is now so late in the
session, and you are all so engaged at headquarters in fighting the
presidential battle, that I fear my lightning will not have a fair
chance till next fall. Hoping to see you at the class meeting in
New Haven, in August next, to celebrate our 'thirty years exit from
college, I remain truly as ever, your friend and classmate,

" SAMUEL F. B. MORSE."

" PATENT-OFFICE, May 26, 1840.

" SIR : On reviewing the specification of your Magnetic Tele
graph, before ordering the case to issue, a slight defect has been
found in the oath, which it will be necessary to correct, and which,
on the previous examination, escaped the attention of the examiner.
The defect in the oath is in its being without a date : the blank
left for that purpose never having been filled up. And as it might
affect the validity of your patent, were the office to let it pass in
its present form, your better plan will be to make a new affidavit,
which must be taken before the mayor or recorder of your city, as
justices of the peace in your State are not authorized to administer
general oaths. It would be well, also, were you to make the al
teration in the specifications suggested in the note, which you have
made in the margin of it, as it would make the description more
clear- HENRY L. ELLSWORTH." •

TAKING OUT A PATENT. 429

This is the affidavit annexed to the petition or application
for the patent, and description and specification of the inven
tion, which it was supposed was defective :

"UNITED STATES OP AMERICA, )

"DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, COUNTY OP WASHINGTON, \ss'

" On this day of , 1838, before the subscriber, a

justice of the peace in and for said county, personally appeared
the within-named Samuel F. B. Morse, and made solemn oath that
he believes himself to be the first and original inventor of the sev
eral parts, and application thereof, of the American Electro-Mag
netic telegraph, above mentioned and described in the specification
of claims thereto by him subscribed, and that he does not know or
believe that the same was ever before known or used, and that he
is a citizen of the United States.

" C. H. WILTBERGEB, Justice of the Peace."

On receiving this letter, a new affidavit was made, and the
certificate thereof added upon the documents so returned for
the purpose, immediately following the original affidavit, in these
words :

" COUNTY OP NEW YORK, ss.

" On this 29th day of May, 1840, before the subscriber, the
Mayor of the city of New York, personally appeared the within-
named Samuel F. B. Morse, and made solemn oath that he believes
himself to be the first and original inventor of the several parts and
applications thereof, of the American Electro-Magnetic Telegraph
above mentioned and described in the specification of claim thereto
by him subscribed, and that he does not know or believe that the
same was ever before known or used, and that he is a citizen of the
United States. ISAAC L. VARIA^, Mayor."

The direction being complied with, the papers were returned
by Mr. Morse on the same day the affidavit was made and certi
fied. The patents were then issued, as already stated. These
formalities and vexatious delays are thus minutely rehearsed for
the special benefit of future inventors.

Professor Morse, in applying to his partners for their con
sent to an arrangement with an agent, had spoken with great
freedom of the desperate state of his affairs. To Mr. Yail he
wrote :

430

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

"NEW YORK, December 13, 1841.

"I am endeavoring to do something with the Telegraph at
Washington, but am much embarrassed for want of a power of
attorney from you, to act for you in this matter. The prospects of
doing any thing with a company here, which seemed to dawn for a
few moments last summer, have vanished. I am now in treaty
with the person whom I mentioned to you in my letter last sum
mer — Mr. Coffin, at Washington, who offers his services to get the
bill through Congress, which was reported by the Committee of
Commerce some years ago when we were in Washington. I have
written to Mr. Smith, and he assents to any arrangement I may
make. Dr. Gale also assents. I wish you would, therefore, em
power me on your part to conclude the arrangement with Mr.
Coffin. He comes well recommended, as understanding his busi
ness, and he asks ten per cent, if he gets the bill through all the
stages ; nothing, if he does not succeed. As matters now stand,
can we do better ? We all seem somewhat crippled, and I most
of all, being obliged to superintend the getting up of a set of ma
chinery complete, and to make the greater part myself, and without
a cent of means. I am now at work upon it, and for the purpose
cf lecturing upon it. If I should get it completed, I may visit you
with it in Philadelphia some time before the winter closes. Mr.
Smith is without means, and cannot advance any thing. He sug
gests that if I could raise two or three hundred dollars to enable me
to visit Washington with the new machines, it would be well, and
he assented to my receiving the first receipts from the Telegraph to
repay the sum. If I give my time and attention to the matter, is it
not fair that I should receive a compensation ? All the burden now
rests on my shoulders, after years of time devoted to the enter
prise, and I am willing, so far as I am able, to bear my share, if the
other proprietors will lend a helping hand, and give me facilities to
act, and a reasonable recompense for my services in case of success.
Please answer by return of mail, as I cannot write definitely to Mr.
Coffin until I hear from you, and he ought to know immediately,
that he may act without delay, for there are two plans that inter
fere with ours that will be entertained by Congress, and their agents
are on the ground, and busy. It is necessary that our agent should
break ground at once."

The letter which Mr. Morse addressed to Mr. Coffin, after
the assent of the partners was obtained, will show the principle

TERMS WITH THE AGENT. 431

by which he was governed. He offers to give the agent one-
half all he (Morse) should receive from his invention, until
Coffin has received a sum equal to five per cent, of the appro
priation for the experimental Telegraph. The Professor was to
pay from his own subsequent receipts the expenses of the agent,
instead of allowing the agent to receive a portion of the appro
priation.

" NE\V YORK, December 23, 1841.

" DEAR SIR : I have just received yours of the 21st inst., and
I have also received answers and authority from the different pro
prietors of the Telegraph, to agree to give you, which I hereby
agree to do, one-half of all I receive from the Government, either
for my personal services, or for purchase-money of the patent-right,
until you shall have received five per cent, on the sum which Con
gress shall appropriate at their present session for the purpose of
testing my Electro-Magnetic Telegraph, provided you shall succeed
in getting the bill through all its stages till it becomes a law.

" I send you herewith the report of the French Academy of In
dustry, in which it will be seen that the commission appointed by
them to examine my Telegraph not only give it the preference over
Wheatstone's, but they recommend that my name be presented to
the Committee of Premiums for reward, which was done, and at
the annual meeting the great medal of honor was voted me for the
invention.

" I have much which is important bearing on the subject, but
which it will require a little time to prepare — such, for example, as
the opinion of the commission appointed by the French Govern
ment to examine and report on all the plans of electric telegraphs
which had been submitted to the Government, among which was
Wheatstone's, and, after careful examination, they recommend mine
' as the simplest and the best.' I will prepare a paper for you
with as little delay as possible. How soon will it do? I have,
say, over one hundred of these French reports, which, perhaps,
might be distributed in Congress to advantage. If you will desig
nate to whom they may be sent, on a printed list of members which
may be sent me, I will send a copy to such as you mark."

In giving his consent to the proposed arrangement with
Coffin, Mr. Alfred Vail had written to Professor Morse a week
before this last letter was sent, and had said :

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" I have recently given considerable thought to the subject of
the Telegraph, and was intending to get permission of you, if there
is any thing to the contrary in our articles of agreement, to build
for myself and my private use a telegraph upon your plan. Now I
should be glad to have your assent to it. It would be some time
before I could make it at any rate, and therefore can do the gen
eral cause no harm. I will write to my brother that I give my
assent for him to give you the power of attorney to act for us. I
hope there will be no embarrassment thrown in the way of your
and our ultimate success in the Telegraph. I should be very much
pleased to have you come to Philadelphia, and make your stay at
my house, and I will endeavor to render you every assistance in
my power."

In the course of his answer, Professor Morse says to Mr.
Tail:

" I have to do all the labor of the whole enterprise at present,
and have not a cent of money in the world. I am giving my time
and skill in getting the instrument in order to act in case it is re
quired at Washington, and I think it but fair that I should have
my burdens made as light as possible. You can see in a moment
that if I have to write to all the scattered proprietors of the Tele
graph every time any movement is made, what a burden falls upon
me both of expense of time and money, which I cannot afford. In
acting for my own interest in this matter, I, of course, act for the
interest of all. If we can get that thirty thousand dollars bill through
Congress, the experiment (if it can any longer be called such) can
then be tried on such a scale as to insure its success. You ask per
mission to make a telegraph for your own use. I have no objection.
But, before you commence one, I think you had better see me, and
the improvements which I have made, and I can suggest a few
more, rather of an ornamental character, and some economical
arrangements which may be of use to you. I thank you for your
kind invitation, and when I come to Philadelphia shall A. Vail my
self of your politeness. I suppose by this time you have a brood
of chickens around you. Well, go on and prosper. As for me I
am not well, am much depressed at times, and have many cares,
anxieties, and disappointments, in which I am aware I am not alone.
But all will work for the best if we only look through the cloud
and see a kind Parent directing all. This reflection alone cheers
me, and gives me renewed strength.'

FAILURE OF THE AGENT. 433

The business was put into the hands of Mr. Coffin, who
spent the winter in prosecuting it. But the energy and tact, of
which he had spoken so confidently in his letters to Professor
Morse, amounted to nothing. The only means that he proposed
to employ, or was allowed to employ, were argument and per
suasion, and. these were lost upon the minds of members. The
session of 184:l-'42 wore away and the Telegraph was untouched.
In the early part of this dismal year, in a letter to a friend,
giving him a commission, Professor Morse discloses the secret
sorrow over an old misfortune, from which he never fully re
covered. He said:

" Your letter, containing a draft for three hundred dollars, I re
ceived yesterday, for which accept my sincere thanks. I have hesi
tated about receiving it because I had begun to despair of ever being
able to touch the pencil again. The blow I received from Congress
when the decision was made concerning the pictures for the Rotun
da, has almost destroyed my enthusiasm for my art, or rather I
should say turned it into a different channel, laboring for the younger
artists, that they may not have the same kind of obstacles to over
come, against which I have contended. In this I find indeed great
pleasure, so far as my art is concerned. I have not painted a pict
ure since that decision, and I presume that the mechanical skill I
once possessed in the art has suffered by the neglect. I may pos
sibly recover my skill, and if any thing will tend to this end it is the
consciousness of having the sympathy of those who can understand
the circumstances that have operated against me.

" When I applied to paint one of the Rotunda pictures, I was
in my full vigor. I had just returned from three years' hard study
in Italy, which I considered as completing my studies as an historical
painter, and felt a consciousness of ability to execute a work credit
able to my country. I hazarded every thing almost for this single
object. When so unexpectedly I was repelled, I staggered under
the blow. I have endeavored in every way to prevent its effects
upon my mind, but it is a thorn which perpetually obtrudes its
point, and would goad me to death were it not for its aspect in the
light of God's overruling providence. Then all is right."

In the summer of 1842 Professor Morse communicated to
the Hon. W. W. Boardman, member of the House of Repre
sentatives in Congress, the encouraging letter from Professor
28

434 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Henry, of February 24, 1842, which has been previously copied.
Again he wrote :

Professor Morse to Mr. Boardman.

"NEW YORK, August 10, 1842.

" MY DEAR SIR : I inclose you a copy of the Tribune, in which
you will see a notice of my Telegraph. I have showed its opera
tion to a few friends occasionally within a few weeks ; among others
to Professor Henry, of Princeton (a copy of whose letter to me on
this subject I sent you some time since) ; he had never seen it in
operation, but had only heard from description the principle on
which it is founded. He is not of an enthusiastic temperament,
but exceedingly cautious in giving an opinion on scientific inven
tions, yet in this case he expressed himself in the warmest terms,
and told my friend Dr. Chilton (who informed me of it) that he had
just been witnessing the operation of the most beautiful and ingen
ious instrument he had ever seen. Indeed, since I last wrote you,
I have been wholly occupied in perfecting its details, and making
myself familiar with the whole system. There is not a shadow of
doubt as to its performing all that I have promised in regard to it,
and indeed all that has been conceived of it. Few can understand
the obstacles arising from want of pecuniary means that I have had
to encounter the past winter.

" To avoid debt (which I will never incur) I have been com
pelled to make with my own hands a great part of my machinery,
but at an expense of time of very serious consideration to me. I
have executed in six months what a good machinist, if I had the
means to employ him, would have performed in as many weeks, and
performed much better.

" I had hoped to be able to show my perfected instrument in
Washington long before this, and was (until this morning) contem
plating its transportation thither next week. The news just received
of the proposed adjournment of Congress has stopped my prepara
tions, and interposes, I fear, another year of anxious suspense.

c Now, my dear sir, as your time is precious, I will state in few
words what I desire. The Government will eventually, without
doubt, become possessed of this invention, for it will be necessary
from many considerations, not merely as a direct advantage to the
Government and public at large, if regulated by the Government,
but as a preventive of the evil effects which must result if it be a
monopoly of a company. To this latter mode of remunerating my-

LETTER TO MR. BOARDMAN. 435

self I shall be compelled to resort if the Government should not even
tually act upon it. You were so good as to call the attention of the
House to the subject by a resolution of inquiry, early in the session.
I wrote you some time after, requesting a stay of action on the part
of the committee, in the hope that long before this I could show
them the Telegraph in Washington, but, just as I am ready, I find
that Congress will adjourn before I can reach Washington, and put
the instrument in order for their inspection. Will it be possible, be
fore Congress rises, to appropriate a small sum, say thirty-five hun
dred dollars, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, to
put my Telegraph in operation for the inspection of Congress the
next session? If Congress will grant this sum, I will engage to
ha^e a complete Telegraph on my electro-magnetic plan between
the President's house, or one of the departments, and the Capitol
and the Navy-Yard, so that instantaneous communication can be
held between these three points at pleasure, at any time cf day or
night, at any season, in clear or rainy weather, and ready for their
examination during the next session of Congress, so that the whole
subject may be fairly understood. I believe that, did the great
majority of Congress but consider seriously the results of this in
vention of the Electric Telegraph on all the interests of society ;
did they suffer themselves to dwell but for a moment on the vast
consequences of the instantaneous communication of intelligence
from one part to the other of the land in a commercial point of view,
and as facilitating the defenses of the country, which my invention
renders certain, they would not hesitate to pass all the acts neces
sary to secure its control to the Government. I ask not this until
they have thoroughly examined its merits, but will they not assist me
in placing the matter fairly before them ? Surely so small a sum to
the Government for so great an object cannot reasonably be denied.

" I hardly know in what form this request of mine should be
made. Should it be by petition to Congress ? or will this letter
handed in to the committee be sufficient ? If a petition is required
for form's sake to be referred to the committee to report, shall I ask
the' favor of you to make such petition in proper form ? You know,
my dear sir, just what I wish, and I know, from the kind and friend
ly feeling you have shown toward my invention, I may count on
your aid. If on your return you stop a day or two in New York, I
shall be glad to show you the operation of the Telegraph as it is.

" With sincere respect and esteem, your obedient servant,

" SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE.
" Hon. W. W. BOARDMAN, Washington."

436 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

To this letter Mr. Boardman replied :

" HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, August 12, 1842.

" DEAE SIK : Yours of the 10th is received. I had already seen
the notice of your Telegraph in the Tribune, and was prepared for
such a report. This is not the time to commence any new project
before Congress. We are, I trust, within ten days of adjournment.
There is no prospect of a tariff this session, and, as that matter ap
pears settled, the sooner Congress adjourns the better. The sub
ject of your Telegraph was some months ago, as you know, referred
to the Committee on Commerce, and by that committee it was re
ferred to Mr. Ferris, one of the members of that committee, from
the city of New York, and who, by-the-way, is now at home in the
city, and will be glad to see you on the subject. I cannot give you his
address, but you can easily find him. The Treasury and the Gov
ernment are both bankrupt, and that foolish Tyler has vetoed the
tariff bill — the House is in bad humor, and nothing of the kind you
propose could be done. The only chance would be for the Commit
tee on Commerce to report such a plan, but there would be little or
no chance of getting such an appropriation through this session. I
have much faith in your plan, and hope you will continue to push it
toward Congress. Truly yours, etc.,

" W. W. BOAEDMAN.

" Professor SAMUEL F. B. MORSE, New York."

In a letter to Mr. Smith, in July of this year (1842), he com
municates the most important results of his experiments with a
greater length of wire than he had ever used before. And the
encouragement he received from Professor Henry is here an
nounced with intense satisfaction. He said :

" You are doubtless desirous of knowing what progress is made
in the telegraphic enterprise. I have been compelled, for want of
means, to proceed very, very slowly, and to great disadvantage, in
maturing the instruments for a fair exhibition of its powers to Con
gress, and, although I have devoted all my time for nearly a year
past in the hope of proceeding to Washington before the close of
the session, and by a fresh effort to induce Congress to grant me an
appropriation sufficient at least to show them the use of the Tele
graph for a short distance, I have been unable to complete the
correspondent, solely for want of funds, and have many times been
tempted to give up the whole matter, not from any difficulty inher
ent in the invention itself, but from the accumulation of extraneous

RESULT OF EXPERIMENTS. 437

obstacles to so heavy an amount that it seemed utterly impossible
to move another step. I have oftentimes risen in the morning, not
knowing where the means were to come from for the common
expenses of the day. Reflect one moment on my situation in
regard to the invention. Compelled from the first, from my want
of the means to carry out the invention to a practical result, to ask
assistance from those who had means, I associated with me the
Messrs. Vails and Dr. Gale, by making, over to them, on certain condi
tions, a portion of the patent-right. These means enabled me to carry
it successfully forward to a certain point ; at this point you were also
admitted into a share of the patent, on certain conditions, which
carried the enterprise forward successfully still further ; since then
disappointments have occurred, and disasters to the property of every
one concerned in the enterprise, but of a character not touching
the intrinsic merits of the invention in the least, yet bearing on
its progress so fatally as for several years to paralyze all attempts
to proceed. The depressed situation of all my associates in the
invention has thrown the whole burden of again attempting a
movement entirely on me. With the trifling sum of five hundred
dollars I could have had my instrument perfected and before Con
gress six months ago, but I was unable to run the risk, and I there
fore chose to go forward more slowly, but at a great waste of time.
In all these remarks, understand me as not throwing the least blame
on any individual. I believe that the situation in which you all are
thrown is altogether providential — that human foresight could not
avert it, and I firmly believe, too, that the delays, tantalizing and
trying as they have been, will, in the end, turn out to be beneficial.
During the last few months I have availed myself of the means
which Mr. Samuel Colt has had at his command in experimenting
with wire circuits for testing his submarine batteries ; also to test
some very important matters in relation to the Telegraph. I loaned
him, in the first instance, my two reels of wire, which, by-the-by,
is reduced to eight and a quarter miles. In the first place, the wire
was taken to a ropewalk, and stretched back and forth, keeping
each thread at least six inches apart from its neighbor, in order to
ascertain if the coil had any effect in the result we obtained. The
experiments were highly satisfactory, the magnetism and the heat
ing effects, which latter Mr. Colt desired, being apparently stronger
when the wire was stretched out than when in coil. We also found
that when one wire was coated, the other might be naked, and
passed to any distance.

438

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" This result induced Mr. Colt to contract, for his purposes, for
the purchase of forty miles of wire. This quantity, with two that he
had already procured, and my eight miles, make fifty miles ! Twen
ty miles have already been finished, and we have experimented
with perfectly satisfactory results on this distance. In a few days
(it may be weeks, however) he expects the remainder, when we
shall pursue our experiments. I have invented a battery which will
delight you : it is the most powerful of its size ever invented, and
this part of my telegraphic apparatus the results of experiments
have enabled me to simplify, and truly to perfect. Dear sir, I am
just now in a dilemma in consequence of an application from an
energetic and enterprising engineer, Mr. John P. Monroe, who is so
delighted with the operation of the telegraph that he desires to
form a company, and at once put it in operation from New York to
Washington. He thinks there is no doubt but capital could be
raised for this purpose. He is just the person to enter upon the
plan, and Mr. Monroe is a substantial man, a successful contractor
on the New York & Erie Railroad. He is in earnest, and I prom
ised to write you on the subject. If you could come on (and ap
prise me when you can be here), I will endeavor to have Mr. Vail
here also, and, if Dr. Gale is on the spot, we could put all our mat
ters into a state less embarrassing than they are at present, It
seems to me that there is now an opportunity for doing something
advantageous to all. You must perceive at what disadvantage I do
business when, before I can make an}7 answer to queries from
persons who feel disposed to take hold of the enterprise, I must
write two or three letters of particulars to different parts of the
country, and wait days for an answer. The necessity of OUT Tele
graph is made evident in this very case. If you had in your parlor
one of my registers, there would be no need of a long journey, or
of waiting three or four days for an answer. In brief, I can say that
the cost per mile we have ascertained to be as follows, and the wire
you will perceive is to be tied in a most substantial manner :

Lead pipe, and the joinings large enough to contain four or even *

eight wires per mile. $250 00

Wire completely prepared, by winding with twine saturated in tar

and in India-rubber, per mile 150 00

Passing the wire, thus prepared, into the pipe, per mile 5 00

Delivery of pipe and wire 10 00

Excavation and filling in again, about one thousand yards, per

mile, three feet deep 150 00

At fifteen cents per yard, laying the pipe 3 00

$568 00

ESTIMATE OF COSTS. 439

— or say, in round numbers, six hundred dollars per mile. Mr. Mon
roe proposes that a company be formed to carry the Telegraph into
operation from New York to Washington ; that about ten thousand
dollars be raised at first to lay it down as far as Newark — nine
miles ; that the certain operation of it at this distance will insure
the subscription to the rest of the stock in Philadelphia, New York,
and Baltimore ; that the expenses of each of the proprietors should
be summed up, and they all should be reimbursed by the stock,
which he thinks would give confidence. The shares, he thinks,
should be low, in order to interest a great number in the enterprise.
Please think over the plan, and write me on the subject immediate
ly, but do come on, if possible. Mr. Monroe will be in the city a
few days at present, and I wish to give him some kind of reply.

" Yours, etc., S. F. B. MOUSE."

" P. S. — I have not heard a word from Mr. Coffin, at Washing
ton, since I saw you. I presume he has abandoned the idea of doing
any thing in the time we proposed, and so has given it up. Well,
so be it — I am content.

" I have much to tell you of the most gratifying character in re
lation to the certainty of success, and, as for my telegraphic system,
all my experiments go to confirm its entire practicability. Professor
Henry visited me a day or two ago. He knew the principles of the
Telegraph, but had never before seen its operation. He told a gen
tleman, who mentioned it again to me, that without exception it was
the most beautiful and ingenious instrument he had ever seen. He
says mine is the only truly practical plan. He has been experi
menting and making discoveries on celestial electricity, and he
says that Wheatstone and Steinheil's Telegraph must so be influ
enced in a highly-electrical state of the atmosphere as at times to be
useless, they using the deflection of the needle ; while mine, from
theuse.of the magnet, is not subject to this disturbing influence. I
believe, if the truth were known, some such cause is operating to
prevent our hearing more of their telegraphs.

" Truly your friend, etc.,

" S. F. B. M.

" NEW YORK, July 16, 1842."

In the autumn Professor Morse submitted his telegraphic
instrument to the American Institute, and the following report
and resolution were adopted by that body :

440 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Report of the American Institute on the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph.

NEW YORK, September 12, 1842.

The undersigned, the Committee of Arts and Sciences of the
American Institute, respectfully report :

That, by virtue of the power of adding to their numbers, they
called to their aid the gentlemen whose names are hereunto an
nexed, with those of the original members of the committee, and
proceeded to examine Professor Morse's Electro-Magnetic Telegraph.
Having investigated the scientific principles on which it is founded,
inspected the, mechanism by which these principles are brought into
practical operation, and seen the instruments in use in the trans
mission and return of various messages, they have come to the con
clusion that it is admirably adapted to the purposes for which it is
intended, being capable of forming words, numbers, and sentences,
nearly as fast as they can be written in ordinary characters, and of
transmitting them to great distances with a velocity equal to that
of light. They, therefore, beg leave to recommend the Telegraph
of Professor Morse for such testimonials of the approbation of the
American Institute as may in its judgment be due to a most im
portant practical application of high science, brought into success
ful operation by the exercise of much mechanical skill and ingenuity.
All which is respectfully submitted :

JAMES RENWICK, LL. D.,
Prof. Chem. and Nat. Phil., Columbia Col., N. Y.

JOHN W. DRAPER, M. D.,
Prof. Chem. and Min., University City of New York.

WILLIAM H. ELLET, M. D.,
Prof. Chem., etc., Col. of Columbia, S. C.
JAMES R. CHILTON, M. D.,

Chemistry, etc.. New York.

Gr. C. SOHAEFFER,

Associate Prof . Chem., Columbia College,' N. Y.
EDWARD CLARK.
CHARLES A. LEE, M. D.

Such a report as this should have inspired public confidence
in the invention, but it did not ; and, in a very few days after
it was made, the Professor wrote to his partner, Mr. Smith, a
letter in which he appears on the point of abandoning it as a
hopeless enterprise. His own confidence in it was undiminished,
but it must perish if he could not obtain aid :

SUBMARINE EXPERIMENT. 441

" While, so far as the invention itself is concerned, every thing
is favorable, I find myself without sympathy or help from any who
are associated with me, whose interest one would think would impel
them at least to inquire if they could render some assistance. For
nearly two years past, I have devoted all my time and scanty means,
living on a mere pittance, denying myself all pleasures, and even
necessary food, that I might have a sum to put my Telegraph into
such a position before Congress as to insure success to the common
enterprise. I am crushed for want of means, and means of so tri
fling a character, too, that they who know how to ask (which I do
not) could obtain in a few hours. One year more has gone, for
want of these means. I have now ascertained that, however un
promising were the times last session, if I could but have gone to
Washington I could have got some aid to enable me to insure suc
cess at the next session. As it is, although every thing is favorable,
although I have no competition, and no opposition — on the con
trary, although every member of Congress, as far as I can learn, is
favorable — yet I fear all will fail because I am too poor to risk the
trifling expense which my journey and residence in Washington
will occasion me. I will not run in debt, if I lose the whole mat
ter. So, unless I have the means from some source, I shall be com
pelled, however reluctantly, to leave it ; and, if I get once engaged
in my proper profession again, the Telegraph and its proprietors
will urge me from it in vain. No one can tell the days and months
of anxiety and labor I have had in perfecting my telegraphic appa
ratus. For want of means, I have been compelled to make with
my own hands (and to labor for weeks) a piece of mechanism which
could be made much better, and in a tenth part of the time, by a
good mechanician, thus wasting time — time which I cannot recall,
and which seems double-winged to me.

" c Hope deferred maketh the heart sick.' It is true, and I have
known the full meaning of it. Nothing but the consciousness that
I have an invention which is to mark an era in human civilization,
and which is to contribute to the happiness of millions, would have
sustained me through so many and such lengthened trials of pa
tience in perfecting it."

SUBMARINE CABLE.

During the summer of this year (1842), Professor Morse had
been making great preparations for an experiment destined to
give wonderful development to his invention. This was no less

442 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

than a submarine wire, to demonstrate the fact that the current
of electricity could be conducted as well under water as through
the air. Of this he had entertained no doubt. " If I can make
it work ten miles, I can make it go around the globe," was a
favorite expression of his in the infancy of his enterprise. But
he wished to prove it. He insulated his wire as well as he could
with hempen strands well covered with pitch, tar, and India-rub
ber. In the course of the autumn he was prepared to put the
question to the test of actual experiment. The wire was only
the twelfth of an inch in diameter, as may be seen from the
annexed engraving of the lateral and end sections :

The copper wire is represented by the white space in the end-
section. About two miles of this, wound on a reel, was placed
in a small row-boat, and, with one man at the oars and Professor
Morse at the stern, the work of paying out the cable was com
menced. It was a beautiful moonlight night, and those who
had prolonged their evening rambles on the Battery wondered,
as they gazed at the proceedings in the boat, what kind of fishing
the two men could be engaged in that required so long a line.
In somewhat less than two hours, on that eventful evening of
the 18th of October, 1842, "the cable" was laid. Professor
Morse returned to his lodgings and waited with some anxiety
the time when he should be able to test the experiment fully
and fairly. The next morning the New York Herald con
tained the following editorial announcement :

"MORSE'S ELECTRO-MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH.

" This important invention is to be exhibited in operation at Cas
tle Garden between the hours of twelve and one o'clock to-day. One
telegraph will be erected on Governor's Island, and one at the Cas
tle, and messages will be interchanged and orders transmitted dur
ing the day. Many have been incredulous as to the powers of this
wonderful triumph of science and art. All such may now have an
opportunity of fairly testing it. It is destined to work a complete
revolution in the mode of transmitting intelligence throughout the
civilized world"

At daybreak the Professor was on the Battery, and had just
demonstrated his success by the transmission of three or four

APPLICATION TO MR. VAIL. 443

characters between the termini of the line, when the communica
tion was suddenly interrupted, and it was found impossible to
send any messages through the conductor. The cause of this was
explained by his observing no less than seven vessels lying along
the line of the submerged cable, one of which, in getting under
way, had raised it on her anchor. The sailors, unable to divine
its meaning, hauled in about two hundred feet of it on deck,
and, finding no end, cut off that portion, and carried it away
with them. Thus ended the first attempt at submarine tele
graphing. The crowd that had assembled on the Battery dis
persed with jeers, the most of them believing they had been
made the victims of a hoax. A few only, and the patient in
ventor was one of the very few, hoped on, while the prospect
of success was darkened by this public failure. He knew that
it was successful, and believed the world would yet acknowledge
it. The Professor renewed the experiment in "Washington, in
December, by carrying his wires through the canal, and then
with perfect success. Both of these experiments are mentioned
in detail in his letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, December
23, 1844

The Vails had been among his best friends, and were still
warmly attached to him and his work. To them he turned in
the hope of obtaining the means to enable him to go to Wash
ington, and make one more effort to secure the assistance of
Government. To his application for a small sum of money, he
received the following reply, which showed him very clearly
that, hereafter, his only reliance must be on God and himself :

Hon. George Vail to Professor Morse.

"SPEEDWELL IRON- WORKS, December 3, 1842.
" S. F. B. MORSE, Esq.

" DEAR SIR : Your favor is at hand. I had expected that my
father would visit you, but he could not go out in the snow-storm
of Wednesday, and, if he had, I do not think any thing could in
duce him to raise the needful for the prosecution of our object. He
says : ' Tell Mr. Morse that there is no one that I would sooner
assist than him, if I could, but, in the present posture of my affairs,
I am not warranted in undertaking any thing more than to make
my payments as they become due, of which they are not a few.'
He thinks that Mr. S might soon learn how to manage it ; and,

444 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

as he is there, it would save a great expense. I do not myself know
that he could learn ; but, as my means are nothing at the present
time, I can only wish you success, if you go on.

" I am yours truly, GEOEGE VAIL."

This letter cut off the last earthly hope of the disappointed
and despairing inventor. There was a double significance in its
last words. Mr. Vail referred merely to Professor Morse's wish
to go on to "Washington to make his last appeal for Government
assistance. But, to his sensitive mind, it was a suggestion that
all he could expect of aid was the good wishes of his friends, if
he were to go on with his fond scheme of an electric telegraph
to cover the earth. Mr. Coffin, the agent who had promised so
much aid, and had been so unsuccessful in the previous 'session
of Congress, renewed his application to be again employed. But
Professor Morse wrote to him that he had determined to go to
"Washington himself, and that he believed it indispensable to
success that he should give his personal attention to the busi
ness.

The Hon. C. G. Ferris, of New York, of the Committee on
Commerce, having taken a deep interest in the Telegraph, and
fully appreciating its prospective value to the world, sought to
make himself thoroughly acquainted with all the principles and
facts involved, that he might intelligently press the subject
upon the attention of Congress. At his request, Professor
Morse wrote the following letter and petition :

8. F. E. Morse to the Hon. C. G. Ferris.

" NEW YORK, December 6, 1842.

" DEAR SIR : In compliance with your request, I give you a
slight history of my electro-magnetic telegraph, since it was pre
sented for the consideration of Congress, in the year 1838.

" During the session of the Twenty-fifth Congress, a report was
made by the Committee on Commerce of the House, which con
cluded by unanimously submitting a bill appropriating thirty thou
sand dollars for the purpose of testing my system of electro-mag
netic telegraphs. The pressure of business at the close of that
session prevented any action being taken upon it.

" Before the session closed, I visited England and France, for
the double purpose of submitting my invention to the test of

LETTER TO MR. FERRIS. 445

European criticism, and to secure to myself some remuneration for
my large expenditures of time and money in elaborating my inven
tion. In France, after a patent had been secured in that country,
my telegraph first attracted the attention of the Academy of Sci
ences, and its operation was shown, and its principles were ex
plained, by the celebrated philosopher, Arago, in the session of
that distinguished body of learned men, on September 10, 1838.
Its reception was of the most enthusiastic character. Several other
societies, among which were the Academy of Industry and the
Philotechnic Society, appointed committees to examine and report
upon the invention, from all of which I received votes of thanks,
and from the former the large medal of honor. The French Gov
ernment at this time had its attention drawn to the subject of
electric telegraphs, several systems having been presented for its
consideration, from England, Germany, and France. Through the
kind offices of our minister at the French Court, General Cass, my
telegraph was also submitted ; and the Minister of the Interior (M.
Montalivet) appointed a commission, at the head of which was
placed M. Alphonse Foy, the administrator-in-chief of the tele
graphs of France, with directions to examine and report upon all
the various systems which had been presented. The result of this
examination (in which the ingenious systems of Professor Wheat-
stone, of London, of Professor Steinheil, of Munich, and Professor
Masson, of Caen, passed in review) was a report to the minister in
favor of mine. In a note addressed to me by M. Foy, who had ex
pressed his warmest admiration of my telegraph in my presence, he
thus writes :

" ' I take a true pleasure in confirming to you in writing that
which I have already had the honor to say to you viva voce, that I
have prominently presented (signale) to monsieur the Minister of
the Interior your electro-magnetic telegraph, as being the system
which presents the best chance of a practical application ; and I
have stated to him that, if some trials are to be made with electric
telegraphs, I hesitate not to recommend that they should be made
with your apparatus.'

" In England my application for a patent for my invention was
opposed before the Attorney-General by Professor Wheatstone and
Mr. Davy, each of whom had systems already patented, essentially
like each other, but very different from mine. A patent was denied
me by the Attorney-General, Sir John Campbell, on a plea which I
am confident will not bear a legal examination. But there being

44(3 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

no appeal from the Attorney-General's decision, nor remedy, ex
cept at enormous expense, I am deprived of all benefit from my
invention in England. Other causes than impartial justice evi
dently operated against me. An interest for my invention, how
ever, sprung up voluntarily, and quite unexpectedly, among the
English nobility and gentry in Paris, and, had I possessed the
requisite funds to prosecute my rights before the British Parlia
ment, I could scarcely have failed to secure them, so powerfully
was I supported by this interest in my favor ; and I should be un
grateful did I not take every opportunity to acknowledge the kind
ness of the several noblemen and gentlemen who volunteered to
aid me in obtaining my rights in England, among the foremost of
whom were the Earl of Lincoln, the late celebrated Earl of Elgin,
and the Hon. Henry Drummond.

*' I returned to the United States in the spring of 1839, under
an engagement entered into in Paris with the Russian Councilor
of State, the Baron Alexandre de Meyendorf, to visit St. Peters
burg with a distinguished French savant, M. Amyot, for the pur
pose of establishing my telegraphic system in that country. The
contract, formally entered into, was transmitted to St. Petersburg,
for the signature of the emperor, which I was led to believe would
be given without a doubt ; and, that no time should be lost in my
preparations, the contract, duly signed, was to be transmitted to
me in New York, through the Russian ambassador in the United
States, in four or five weeks, at farthest, after my arrival home*

" After waiting, in anxious suspense, for as many months, with
out any intelligence, I learned indirectly that the emperor, from
causes not satisfactorily explained, refused to sign the contract.

"These disappointments (not at all affecting the scientific or
practical character of my invention), combined with the financial
depression of the country, compelled me to rest a while from fur
ther prosecuting my enterprise. For the last two years, however,
under many discouraging circumstances, from want of the requisite
funds for more thoroughly investigating some of the principles in
volved in the invention, I have, nevertheless, been able to resolve
all the doubts that lingered in my own mind, in regard to the per
fect practicability of establishing my telegraphic system to any
extent on the globe. I say, 'doubts that lingered in my own
mind ; ' the principle, and indeed the only one of a scientific char
acter, which at all troubled me, I will state, and the manner in
which it has been resolved :

FAVORABLE EXPERIMENTS. 447

•

" At an early stage of my experiments, I found that the mag
netic power produced in an electro-magnet, by a single galvanic
pair, diminished rapidly as the length of the conductors increased.
Ordinary reasoning on this fact would lead to a conclusion fatal to
the whole invention, since at a great distance I could not operate
at all, or, in order to operate, I should be compelled to make use of
a battery of such a size as would render the whole plan in effect
impracticable. I was, indeed, aware that, by multiplying the pairs
in the battery — that is, increasing the intensity of its propulsive
power — certain effects could be produced at great distances, such as
the decomposition of water, a visible spark, and the deflection of
the magnetic needle. But as magnetic effects, except in the latter
case, had not, to my knowledge, been made the subject of careful
experiment, and as these various effects of electrical action seemed,
in some respects, to be obedient to different laws, I did not feel
entirely assured that magnetism could be produced by a multiplica
tion of pairs sufficiently powerful at a great distance to effect my
purpose. From a series of experiments which I made, in conjunc
tion with Professor Fisher, during the last summer, upon thirty
three miles of wire, the interesting fact so favorable to my tele
graphic system was fully verified, that, while the distance increased
in an arithmetical ratio, an addition to the series of galvanic pairs
of plates increased the magnetic power in a geometric ratio. Fifty
pairs of plates were used as a constant power. Two miles of con
ductors at a time, from two to thirty-three, were successively added
to the distance. The weight upheld by the magnet from the mag
netism produced by fifty pairs, gradually diminished up to the dis
tance of ten miles ; after which, the addition of miles of wire up to
thirty-three miles (the extent to which we were able to try it)
caused no further visible diminution of power. The weight then
sustained was a constant quantity. The practical deduction from
these experiments is the fact that, with a very small battery, all
the effects I desire, and at any distance, can be produced. In the
experiments alluded to, the fifty pairs did not occupy a space of
more than eight cubic inches, and they comprised but fifty square
inches of active surface.

" The practicability of establishing my telegraphic system is thus
relieved from all scientific objections.

" Let me now turn "your attention, sir, one moment, to a con
sideration of the telegraph as a source of revenue. The imperfec
tions of the common systems, particularly their uselessness, on ac-

448 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

count of the weather, three-quarters of the time, have concealed
from view so natural a fruit of a perfected telegraphic system. So
uncertain are the common telegraphs as to time, and so meagre in
the quantity of intelligence they can transmit under the most favor
able circumstances, that the idea of making them a source of reve
nue would not be likely to occur. So far, indeed, from being a
source of revenue, the systems in common use in Europe are sus
tained at great expense ; an expense which, imperfect as they are,
is justified, in the view of the Government, by the great political
advantages which they produce. Telegraphs with them are a gov
ernment monopoly, and used only for government purposes. They
are in harmony with the genius of those governments. The people
have no advantage from them, except indirectly as the government
is benefited. Were our mails used solely for the purpose of the
Government, and private individuals forbidden to correspond by
them, they would furnish a good illustration of the operation of the
common European telegraphic systems.

" The Electro-Magnetic Telegraph, I would fain think, is more
in consonance with the political institutions under which we live,
and is fitted, like the mail system, to diffuse its benefits alike to the
Government and to the people at large.

" As a source of revenue, then, to the Government, few, I be
lieve, have seriously computed the great profits to be derived from
such a system of telegraphs as I propose ; and yet there are sure
data already obtained by which they can be demonstrated.

" The first fact is, that every minute of the twenty-four hours
is available to send intelligence.

" The second fact is, that twelve signs, at least, can be sent in
a minute, instantaneously, as any one may have proof by actual
demonstration of the fact, on the instrument now operating in the
Capitol.1

" There can be" no doubt that the cases, where such speedy
transmission of intelligence from one distant city to another is de
sirable, are so numerous, that, when once the line is made for such
transmission, it will be in constant use, and a demand made for a
greater number of lines.

" The paramount convenience, to commercial agents and others,
of thus corresponding at a distance, will authorize a rate of postage
proportionate to the distance, on the principle of rating postage by
the mails.

1 Ninety-eight, per minute, can now be sent (1845).

CALCULATION! OF PROFITS. 449

" To illustrate the operation of the telegraph in increasing the
revenue, let us suppose that but eighteen hours of the twenty-
four are efficiently used for the actual purposes of revenue ; that
six hours are allowed for repetitions and other purposes, which
is a large allowance. This would give, upon a single circuit, 12,960
signs per day, upon which a rate of postage is to be charged.
Intelligence of great extent may be comprised in a few signs. Sup
pose the following commercial communication is to be transmitted
from New York to New Orleans :

" ' Yrs., Dec. 21, rec. Buy 25 bales c., at 9, and 300 pork, at 8.'

" Here are thirty-six signs, which take three minutes in the
transmission from New York to New Orleans, and which informs
the New York merchant's correspondent at New Orleans of the
receipt of a certain document, and gives him orders to purchase
twenty-five bales of cotton at nine cents per pound, and three hun
dred barrels of pork at eight cents per pound. Thus may be com
pleted, in three minutes, a transaction in business which now would
take at least four or five weeks to accomplish.

" Suppose that one cent per sign be charged for the first 100
miles, increasing the charge at the rate of half a cent, each addi
tional 100 miles, the postage of the above communication would
be $2.88 for a distance of 1,500 miles. It would be sent 100 miles
for 36 cents. Would any merchant grudge so small a sum for
sending such an amount of information in so short a time to such
a distance ? If time is money, and to save time is to save money,
surely such an immense saving of time is the saving of an immense
sum of money. A telegraphic line of a single circuit only, from
New York to New Orleans, would realize, then, to the Government,
daily, in the correspondence between those two cities alone, over
one thousand dollars, gross receipts, or over 1300,000 per annum.

"But it is a well-established fact that, as facilities of inter
course increase between diiferent parts of the country, the greater
is that intercourse. Thousands travel, in this day of railroads and
steamboats, who never thought of leaving their homes before.
Establish, then, the means of instantaneous communication be
tween the most distant places, and the telegraphic line of a single
circuit will very soon be insufficient to supply the demands of the
public — they will require more.

" Two circuits will of course double the facilities, and double the
revenue / but it is an important fact that the expense of afterward
establishing a second, or any number of circuits, does not proceed
29

450 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

on the doubling principle. If a channel for conveying a single cir
cuit be made, in the first instance, of sufficient capacity to contain
many more circuits, which can easily be done, additional circuits
can be laid as fast as they are called for, at but little more than the
cost of the prepared wire. The recent discovery of Professor Fisher
and myself shows that a single wire may be made the common con
ductor for at least six circuits. How many more we have not yet
ascertained. So that to add another circuit is but to add another
wire. Fifty dollars per mile, under these circumstances, would,
therefore, add the means of doubling the facilities and the revenue.
" Between New York and Philadelphia, for example, the whole
cost of laying such an additional circuit would be but $5,000, which
would be more than defrayed by two months' receipts only from the
telegraphs between these two cities.

" There are two modes of establishing the line of conductors.
" The first and cheapest is doubtless that of erecting spars about
30 feet in height and 350 feet apart, extending the conductors along
the tops of the spars. This method has some obvious disadvan
tages. The expense would be from $350 to $400 per mile.

" The second method is that of inclosing the conductors in leaden
tubes, and laying them in the earth. I have made the following
estimate of the cost of this method :

Wire, prepared, per mile $150 00

Lead pipe, with solderings 250 00

Delivery of the pipe and wire 25 00

Passing wire into the pipes 5 00

Excavations and filling in about 1,000 yards per mile, or 3 feet

deep, at 15 cents per square yard . . . . - 150 00
Laying down the pipe . 3 QO

$583 00

One register, with its machinery, comprising a galvanic battery

of four pairs of my double-cup battery .... $100 00
One battery of 200 pairs . . . 100 00

Expense for thirty-nine miles -. $22,837 00

Two registers . '200 00

Two batteries 200 00

Services of chief superintendent of construction per annum . 2,000 00
Services of three assistants, at $1,500 each, per annum . 4,500 00

$29,637 00
"As experience alone can determine the best mode of securing

PROFESSOR STEINHEIL. 451

the conductors, I should wish the means and opportunity of trying
various modes to such an extent as will demonstrate the best.

" Before closing my letter, sir, I ought to give you the proofs I
possess that the American Telegraph has the priority in the time
of its invention.

" The two European Telegraphs in practical operation are Pro
fessor SteinheiPs, of Munich, and Professor Wheatstone's, of Lon
don. The former is adopted by the Bavarian Government; the
latter is established about 200 miles in England, under the direction
of a company in London. In a highly-interesting paper on the
subject of telegraphs, translated and inserted in the London An
nals of Electricity, March and April, 1839, Professor Steinheil gives
a brief sketch of the various projects of electric telegraphs, from
the time of Franklin's electrical experiments to the present day.
Until the birth of the science of electro-magnetism, generated by
the important discovery of Oersted, in 1820, of the action of elec
tric currents upon the magnetic needle, the Electric Telegraph was
but a philosophic toy, complicated and practically useless. Let it
be here noticed that, after the discovery of Oersted, the deflection
of the needle became the principle upon which the savants of Europe
based all their attempts to construct an electric telegraph. The
celebrated Ampere, in the same year of Oersted's discovery, sug
gested a plan of telegraphs, to consist of a magnetic needle, and a
circuit for each letter of the alphabet and the numerals — making
it necessary to have some sixty or seventy wires between the two
termini of the telegraphic line.

" The suggestion of Ampere is, doubtless, the parent of all the
attempts in Europe, both abortive and successful, for constructing
an electric telegraph.

"Under this head may be arranged the Baron Schilling's at
St. Petersburg, consisting of thirty-six needles, and upward of sixty
metallic conductors, and invented, it seems, at the same date with
my Electro-Magnetic Telegraph, in the autumn of 1832. Under
the same head comes that of Professors Gauss and Weber, of Got-
tingen, in 1833, who simplified the plan by using but a single needle
and a single circuit. Professor Wheatstone's, of London, invented
in 1837, conies under the same category ; he employs five needles
and six conductors. Professor SteinheiPs, also invented in 1837,
employs two needles and two conductors.

" But there was another discovery in the infancy of the science
of electro-magnetism, by Ampere and Arago, immediately, conse-

452 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

quent on that of Oersted, namely, the electro-magnet, which none
of the savants of Europe who have planned electric telegraphs ever
thought of applying, until within two years past, for the purpose of
signals. My Telegraph is essentially based on this latter discovery.

" Supposing my Telegraph to be based on the same principle
with the European electric telegraphs, which it is not, mine, having
been invented in 1832, would still have the precedence, by some
months at least, of Gauss and Weber's, to whom Steinheil gives
the credit of being the first to simplify and make practicable the
Electric Telegraph. But when it is considered that all the Eu
ropean telegraphs make use of the deflection of the needle to ac
complish their results, and that none use the attractive power of the
electro-magnet to write in legible characters, I think I can claim,
without injustice to others, to be the first inventor of the ^Electro-
Magnetic Telegraph.

" In 1839 I visited London, on my return from France, and,
through the polite solicitations of the Earl of Lincoln, showed and
explained its operation at his house, on the 19th of March, 1839, to
a large company which he had expressly invited for the purpose,
composed of Lords of the Admiralty, members of the Royal Society,
and members of both Houses of Parliament.

"Professor Wheatstone has announced that he has recently
(in 1840) also invented and patented an electro-magnetic telegraph,
differing altogether from his invention of 1837, which he calls his
Magnetic-Needle Telegraph. His is, therefore, the first European
electro-magnetic telegraph, and was invented, as is perceived, eight
years subsequent to mine, and one year after my Telegraph was
exhibited in the public manner described at the Earl of Lincoln }s
residence in London.

" I am the more minute in adducing this evidence of priority
of invention to you, sir, since I have frequently been charged by
Europeans, in my own country, with merely imitating long-known
European inventions. It is, therefore, due to my own country, as
well as to myself, that in this matter the facts should be known.

" Professor Steinheil's telegraph is the only European telegraph
that professes to write the intelligence. He records, however, by
the delicate touch of the needle in its deflections, with what practi
cal effect I am unable to say ; but I should think that it was too
delicate and uncertain, especially as compared with the strong and
efficient power which may be produced in any degree by the elec
tro-magnet.

AGAIN IN WASHINGTON. 453

" I have devoted many years of my life to this invention, sus
tained in many of the disappointments by the -belief that it is des
tined eventually to confer immense benefits upon my country and
the world.

" I am persuaded that whatever facilitates intercourse between
the different portions of the human family will have the effect,
under the guidance of sound moral principles, to promote the best
interests of man. I ask of Congress the means of demonstrating
its efficiency.

" I remain, sir, with great respect, your most obedient servant,

" SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.
"Hon. CHARLES G. FERRIS,

" Member of the House of Representatives from the city of New York, and one
of the Committee on Commerce, to whom was referred the subject of the
expediency of adopting a system of electro-magnetic telegraphs for the United
States."

Immediately after this letter was sent, Professor Morse once
more appeared at the seat of government, to press his impor
tunate suit for aid. Christopher Columbus was not more per
sistent under discouragements. In the Capitol Professor Morse
again mounted his wires and implored the members of Congress
and officers of the Government to come and see. An incident
occurred at this time that greatly cheered him, though it was in
itself of very little moment. Mr. Tuckerman, in his " Lives of
the Painters," records it as having occurred after the appropria
tion by Congress was made, but it happened while making
preparations for the exhibition of the instrument :

"A striking evidence of the waywardness of destiny is af
forded by the experience of this artist, if we pass at once from
this early and hopeful moment to a more recent incident. He then
aimed at renown, through devotion to the beautiful ; but it would
seem as if the genius of his country, in spite of himself, led him to
this object by the less flowery path of utility. He desired to
identify his name with art, but it has become far more widely asso
ciated with science. A series of bitter disappointments obliged
him to c coin his mind for bread,' for a long period of exclusive
attention to portrait-painting, although at rare intervals he accom
plished something more satisfactory. More than thirty years since,
on a voyage from Europe, in a conversation with his fellow-passen
the theme of discourse happened to be the electro-magnet ;

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

and one gentleman present related some experiments he. had lately
witnessed at Paris, which proved the almost incalculable rapidity
of movement with which electricity was disseminated. The idea
suggested itself to the active mind of the artist, that this wonderful
and but partially explored agent might be rendered subservient to
that system of intercommunication which had become so important
a principle of modern civilization. He brooded over the subject as
he walked the deck, or lay wakeful in his berth, and, by the time he
arrived at New York, had so far matured his invention as to have
decided upon a telegraph of signs, which is essentially that now in
use. After having sufficiently demonstrated his discovery to the
scientific, a long period of toil, anxiety, and suspense, intervened
before he obtained the requisite facilities for the establishment of
the magnetic telegraph. It is now in daily operation in the United
States, and its superiority over all similar inventions abroad was
confirmed by the testimony of Arago and the appropriation made
for its erection by the French Government.

" By one of those coincidences which would be thought appro
priate for romance, but which are more common, in fact, than the
unobservant are disposed to confess, these two most brilliant events
in the painter's life — his first successful work of art and the triumph
of his scientific discovery — were brought together, as it were, in a
manner singularly fitted to impress the imagination. Six copies of
his * Dying Hercules ' had been made in London, and the mould
was then destroyed. Four of these were distributed by the artist
to academies, one he retained, and the last was given to Mr. Bui-
finch, the architect of the Capitol, who was engaged at the time
upon that building. After the lapse of many years, an accident
ruined Morse's own copy, and a similar fate had overtaken the
others, at least in America. After vain efforts to regain one of
these trophies of his youthful career, he at length despaired of
seeing again what could not fail to be endeared to his memory by
the most interesting associations. One day he was superintending
the preparations for the first establishment of his telegraph in 'the
room assigned at the Capitol. His perseverance and self-denying
labor had at length met its just reward, and he was taking the first
active step to obtain a substantial benefit from his invention. It
became necessary, in locating the wires, to descend into a vault
beneath the apartment, which had not been opened for a long period.
A man preceded the artist with a lamp. As they passed along the
subterranean chamber, the latter's attention was attracted by some-

FAVORABLE REPORT. 455

thing white glimmering through the darkness. In approaching the
object, what was his surprise to find himself gazing upon his long-
lost Hercules, which he had not seen for twenty years ! A little
reflection explained the apparent miracle. This was undoubtedly
the copy given to his deceased friend the architect, and temporarily
deposited in the vault for safety, and undiscovered until after his
death."

On the last day but one of this year, 1842, Mr. Ferris sub
mitted to Congress the report and bill which resulted in fa
vorable action. It is in these words :

Mr. Ferris, from the Committee on Commerce^ made the following
Report, December 30, 1842 :

That they regard the question, as to the general utility of the
telegraphic system, settled by its adoption by the most civilized na
tions; and experience has fully demonstrated the great advantages
which may be derived from its use. Its capability of speedily trans
mitting intelligence to great distances, for national defense, and for
other purposes, where celerity is desirable, is decidedly superior to
any of the ordinary modes of communication in use. By it, the
first warning of approaching danger, and the appearance of hostile
fleets and armies on our coasts and borders, may be announced si
multaneously and at the most distant points of our widely-extended
empire, thus affording time and opportunity for concentrating the
military force of the country, for facilitating military and naval
movements, and for transmitting orders suitable to the emergency.

In the commercial and social affairs of the community, occasions
frequently arise in which the speedy transmission of intelligence
may be of the highest importance for the regulation of business
transactions, and in relieving the anxious solicitude of friends, as to
the health and condition of those in whose fortunes they feel an in
terest.

The practicability of establishing telegraphs on the electric prin
ciple is no longer a question. Wheatstone, of London, and his as
sociates, have been more fortunate than our American inventor, in
procuring the means to put his ingenious system into practical use
for two or three hundred miles, in Great Britain ; and the move
ments of the cars on the Blackwall Railroad are at this time di
rected with great economy, and perfect safety to life and property,
by means of his magnetic needle telegraph. If a system more
complicated and less efficient than the American telegraph is oper-

456 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

ated for great distances in England, with such eminent success and
advantage, there can be no reasonable doubt that, if the means be
furnished for putting in operation the system of Professor Samuel
F. B. Morse, of New York, the original inventor of the electro-mag
netic telegraph, the same, if not greater success, will be the result.
Your committee are of opinion that it is but justice to Professor
Morse, who is alike distinguished for his attainments in science and
excellence in the arts of design, and who has patiently devoted
many years of unremitting study, and freely spent his private for
tune, in inventing and bringing to perfection a system of telegraphs
which is calculated to advance the scientific reputation of the coun
try, and to be eminently useful, both to the Government and the
people, that he should be furnished with the means of competing
with his European rivals.

Professor Morse bases his system upon the two following facts
in science :

1. That a current of electricity will pass to any distance along a
conductor connecting the two poles of a voltaic battery or generator
of electricity, and produce visible effects at any desired points on
that conductor.

2. That magnetism is produced in a piece of soft iron (around
which the conductor, in its progress, is made to pass) when the
electric current is permitted to flow, and that the magnetism ceases
when the current of electricity is prevented from flowing. This cur
rent of electricity is produced and destroyed by breaking and clos
ing the galvanic circuit at the pleasure of the operator of the tele
graph, who in this manner directs and controls the operation of a
simple and compact piece of mechanism, styled the register, which,
at the will of the operator at the point of communication, is made
to record, at the point of reception, legible characters, on a roll of
paper put in motion at the same time with the writing instrument.
These characters the inventor has arranged into a conventional
alphabet, and which is capable of being learned and used with very
little practice.

Professor Morse has submitted his telegraphic plan to the severe
scrutiny of European criticism ; and the Academy of Sciences, of
Paris, the highest scientific tribunal in the world, hailed it with en
thusiasm and approbation, when its operation was exhibited, and its
principles explained, by their distinguished perpetual secretary, M.
Arago.

It appears, from documents produced by Professor Morse, that

OTHER SYSTEMS. 457

the thanks of the several learned bodies in France were voted to
him for his invention, and the large medal of honor was awarded to
him by the Academy of Industry. It further appears that several
other systems of telegraphs on the electric plan (among which were
Wheatstone's, of London ; Steinheil's, of Munich ; and Masson's, of
Caen) had been submitted at various times for the consideration of
the French Government, who appointed a commission to examine
and report On them all, at the head of which commission was placed
the administrator-in-chief of the telegraphs of France (M. Foy),
who, in a note to Professor Morse, thus writes :

" I take a true pleasure in confirming to you in writing that
which I have already had the honor to say to you viva voce — that
I have prominently presented to Monsieur the Minister of the Inte
rior your electro-magnetic telegraph, as being the system which
presents the best chance of a practical application ; and I have de
clared to him that, if some trials are to be made with electric tele
graphs, I do not hesitate to recommend that they should be made
with your apparatus."

Your committee, in producing further evidence of the approba
tion by the scientific world of the system of Professor Morse, would
cite the letter of Professor Henry, of Princeton College, well known
for his eminent attainments in electrical science, in the appendix of
this report.

More recently, a committee, consisting of some of our most dis
tinguished scientific citizens, was appointed by the American Insti
tute, of New York, to examine and report upon this telegraph, who
made the report in the appendix. In compliance with the rec
ommendation of this report, the Institute awarded to Professor
Morse the gold medal.

Besides the evidence these testimonials furnish of the excellence
of Professor Morse's system, your committee, as well as the greater
part of the members of both Houses of Congress, have had a prac
tical demonstration of the operation of the electro-magnetic tele
graph, and have witnessed the perfect facility and extraordinary
rapidity with which a message can be sent by means of it from one
extremity of the Capitol to the other. This rapidity is not con
fined in its effects to a few hundred feet, but science makes it certain
that the same effects can be produced at any distance on the globe,
between any two given points connected by the conductors.

Your committee have alluded to other electric telegraphs ; for,
as is not uncommon in the birth of great inventions, scientific minds

458 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

have, at nearly the same period of time, in various parts of Europe,
conceived and planned electric telegraphs ; but it is a matter of
national pride, that the invention of the first electro-magnetic tele
graph, by Professor Morse, as well as the first conception of using
electricity as the means of transmitting intelligence, by Doctor
Franklin, is the offspring of American genius.

Your committee beg leave to refer to the letter of Professor
Morse, in the appendix, to C. G. Ferris, one of the committee,
giving, at his request, a brief history of the telegraph since it was
before Congress in 1838, for some interesting information concern
ing it, and for Professor Morse's estimate of the probable expense
of establishing his system of telegraphs for thirty or forty miles.

They would also refer to the House document, No. 15 (Decem
ber 6, 1837), and to House report, No. 753 (April 6, 1838), for val
uable information on the subject of telegraphs.

Your committee invite special -attention to that part of Professor
Morse's letter which details the plan of a revenue which may be
derived from his telegraphic system, when established to an extent
sufficient for the purpose of commercial and general intelligence.
From these calculations, made upon safe data, it is probable that an
income would be derived from its use by merchants and citizens
more than sufficient to defray the interest of the capital expended
in its establishment. So inviting, indeed, are the prospects of profit
to individual enterprise, that it is a matter of serious consideration,
whether the Government should not, on this account alone, seize
the present opportunity of securing to itself the regulation of a sys
tem which, if monopolized by a private company, might be used to
the serious injury of the Post-Office Department, and which could
not be prevented without such an interference with the rights of
the inventor and of the stockholders as could not be sustained by
justice or public opinion.

After the ordeal to which the electro-magnetic telegraph system
has been subjected, both in Europe and in America, and the voice of
the scientific world in its favor, it is scarcely necessary for your com
mittee to say that they have the fullest confidence in Professor
Morse's plan, and they earnestly recommend the adoption of it by
the Government of the United States. They deem it most fortu
nate, that no definite system of telegraphs should hitherto have been
adopted by the Government, since it enables them to establish this
improved system, which, in the opinion of your committee, is decid
edly superior to any other now in use, possessing an advantage over

THE APPROPRIATION BILL. 459

telegraphs depending on vision, inasmuch as it may be used both
by night and day, in all weathers, and in all seasons of the year,
with equal convenience ; and, also, possessing an advantage over
electric telegraphs heretofore in use, inasmuch as it records, in per
manent legible characters on paper, any communication which may
be made by it, without the aid of any agent at the place of record
ing, except the apparatus which is put in motion at the point of
communication. Thus, the recording apparatus, called the register,
may be left in a closed chamber, where it will give notice of its
commencing to write, by a bell, and the communication may be
found on opening the apartment. Possessing these great advan
tages, and the means of communication not being liable to interrup
tion by the ordinary contingencies which may impede or prevent
the successful action of other telegraphs, the advantages to be de
rived from it will soon be apparent to the community, and it will
become the successful rival of the Post-Office, when celerity of com
munication -is desired, and create a revenue from which this system
of telegraphs may be extended and ramified through all parts of the
country, without imposing any burden upon the people or draughts
on the treasury, beyond the outlay for its first establishment.

As a first step toward the adoption of this system of telegraphs
by the Government, your committee recommend the appropriation
of thirty thousand dollars, to be expended under the direction of
the Postmaster-General, in constructing a line of electro-magnetic
telegraphs, under the superintendence of Professor Samuel F. B.
Morse, of such length, and between such points, as shall fully test
its practicability and utility ; and for this purpose they respectfully
submit the following bill :

to test the Practicability of establishing a System of Elec
tro-Magnetic Telegraphs by the United States.

Be it enacted by the Senate and Souse of Representatives of
the United States in Congress assembled, That the sum of thirty
thousand dollars be, and is hereby appropriated, out of any moneys
in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for testing the capacity
and usefulness of the system of electro-magnetic telegraphs invented
by Samuel F. B. Morse, of New York, for the use of the Govern
ment of the United States, by constructing a line of said electro
magnetic telegraphs, under the superintendence of Professor Samuel
F. B. Morse, of such length and between such points as shall fully
test its practicability and utility ; and that the same shall be ex-

460 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

pended under the direction of the Postmaster-General upon the ap
plication of said Morse.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Postmaster-General
be, and he is hereby authorized to pay, out of the aforesaid thirty
thousand dollars, to the said Samuel F. B. Morse, and the persons
employed under him, such sums of money as he may deem to be a
fair compensation for the services of the said Samuel F. B. Morse
and the persons employed under him, in constructing and in super
intending the construction of the said line of telegraphs authorized
by this bill.

To us, with the triumphs of the Telegraph before us, and
its incorporation into the business and intercourse of the world,
so as to have become as essential as steam, it seems incredible,
after the complete success of the initial experiment, that Con
gress should have so little faith as to hesitate to make the slight

o o

appropriation required to test it practically over a space of thirty
or forty miles. But it had some believing friends. The Com
missioner of Patents, Hon. H. L. Ellsworth, was one of its ear
liest and firmest supporters. He was ardently interested in the
inventor. He received him into his own family, cheered him
in his retirement, sustained his flagging energies, and smoothed
his path with unceasing kindness and hopes of ultimate sue
cess. Several members of Congress — Kennedy, of Maryland ;
Mason, of Ohio ; Wallace, of Indiana ; Ferris and Boardman, of
New York ; Holmes, of South Carolina ; Aycrigg, of New Jer
sey, and others — supported the measure with energy and ability.
The favorable report of the bill from the Committee of Commerce
was the closing and encouraging point in the history of the Tele
graph for the year 1842. Ten years had elapsed since, on board
the ship, the scheme of the Telegraph, connecting cities and
continents, had dawned upon the mind of the inventor. Appar
ently he had often been upon the point of seeing his dreams
made real by the practical faith of his country. Doomed to
disappointment and driven to the verge of despair, he persevered
with that energy which faith only inspires. Another year — 1843'
— the year of success, the year to be hereafter associated with
that of 1832 in the history of the Telegraph, at length opened
in the life of the inventor. Day after day he stood at his in
strument, meekly and sometimes tearfully explaining to sue-

DEBATE IN THE HOUSE. 461

cessive visitors its operations. One and another member of
Congress came, saw, heard, and went away believing. Others
mocked. The most were silent, waiting to see what would
come of it. Two months of the year were nearly spent, and
Congress would expire within a week. Hope was more slowly
expiring in the breast of the anxious inventor. In vain were
his entreaties. His predictions were as those of a mad prophet.
At last, on the 21st day of February, 1843, the Hon. John P.
Kennedy submitted a resolution, that "the bill appropriating
thirty thousand dollars, to be expended under the direction of
the Secretary of the Treasury, in a series of experiments to test
the expediency of the Telegraph projected by Professor Morse,
should be passed." The debate that followed is fortunately not
preserved in the journals of the day nor in the official reports.
That it was exceedingly discreditable to the intelligence of an
American Congress is abundantly evident in the meagre report
that remains. The Congressional Globe, professing to give ver
batim reports of the proceedings, disposes of the discussion in a
few lines, and this fact is perhaps the most striking evidence of
the utter indifference of the public to the subject. Every word
of the debate in the Globe is here given :

[From the Congressional Globe, February 21, 1843.]
ELECTRO AND ANIMAL MAGNETISM.

On motion of Mr. Kennedy, of Maryland, the committee took
up the bill to authorize a series of experiments to be made, in order
to test the merits of Morse's electro-magnetic telegraph. The bill
appropriates thirty thousand dollars, to be expended under the di
rection of the Postmaster-General.

On motion of Mr. Kennedy, the words " Postmaster-General "
were stricken out and Secretary of the Treasury inserted.

Mr. Cave Johnson wished to have a word to say upon the bill.
As the present had done much to encourage science, he did not
wish to see the science of mesmerism neglected and overlooked.
He therefore proposed that one-half of the appropriation be given
to Mr. Fisk, to enable him to carry on experiments, as well as Pro
fessor Morse.

Mr. Houston thought that Millerism should also be included in
the benefits of the appropriation.

Mr. Stanly said he should have no objection to the appropria-

462

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

tion for mesmeric experiments, provided the gentleman from Ten
nessee (Mr. Cave Johnson) was the subject. [A laugh.]

Mr. Cave Johnson said he should have no objection, provided
the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Stanly) was the operator.
[Great laughter.]

Several gentlemen called for the reading of the amendment,
, and it was read by the clerk, as follows :

" Provided, that one-half of the said sum shall be appropriated
for trying mesmeric experiments, under the direction of the Secre
tary of the Treasury."

Mr. S. Mason rose to a question of order. He maintained that
the amendment was not bona fide^ and that such amendments were
calculated to injure the character of the House. He appealed to
the Chair to rule the amendment out of order.

The chairman said it was not for him to judge of the motives
of members in offering amendments, and he could not, therefore,
undertake to pronounce the amendment not "bona fide. Objections
might be raised to it on the ground that it was not sufficiently anal
ogous in character to the bill under consideration, but, in the opin
ion of the Chair, it would require a scientific analysis to determine
how far the magnetism of mesmerism was analogous to that to be
employed in telegraph. [Laughter.] He therefore ruled the amend-
Ynent in order.

On taking the vote, the amendment was rejected — yeas 22,
nays not counted.

The bill was then laid aside, to be reported.

ELECTEO-MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH.

February 23, 1843.

On motion by Mr. J. P. Kennedy, the bill making appropriation
to test the value of Morse's magnetic telegraph was taken up, and,
under the operation of the previous question, passed — yeas 89,
nays 83.

Professor Morse sat in the gallery while the vote was taken,
his frame trembling with intense anxiety, and his soul strug
gling at that moment for the aid of an unseen power in which
he believed and trusted in his darkest hours. IT WAS CARRIED.
The majority was small — only six — but it was on the right side.
The bill had passed the House. So far the victory was his.
When the votes were recorded, they were found to stand — yeas

ANALYSIS OF THE VOTE.

463

90, nays 82 — majority 8. Professor Morse subjected them to
analysis and classification, and the" table remained among his
papers throughout his life.

Vote on the Telegraph, February 23, 1843, in the House of Repre
sentatives.

Neutral.

Yeas.

Nays.

Neutral.

Yeas.

Nays.

Maine

2

4

2

Georgia

5

4

New Hampshire

1

4

Kentucky

6

3

4

Massachusetts

6

4

2

Tennessee

3

1

9

Rhode Island. .

1

1

Ohio

2

10

7

Connecticut

1

5

Louisiana

2

1

Vermont

4

1

Indiana

3

3

1

New York

7

22

11

Mississippi

1

1

New Jersey

6

Illinois

1

2

Pennsylvania. . . .

9

15

« 4

3

2

Delaware

1

Missouri

2

Maryland

4

3

1

Arkansas

1

Virginia

5

3

13

Michigan

1

4

1

g

South Carolina. .

4

1

4

70

90

82

This table is suggestive, and will reward a careful study.
On the same day Professor Morse wrote to Hon. F. O. J.
Smith :

" The long agony (truly agony to me) is over ; for you will per
ceive, by the papers of to-morrow, that, so far as the House is con
cerned, the matter is decided. My bill has passed by a vote of
eighty-nine to eighty-three, a close vote, you will say ; but explained
upon several grounds, not affecting the disposition of many individ
ual members, who voted against it, to the invention. In matter,
six votes are as good as a thousand, so far as the appropriation is
concerned. The yeas and nays will tell you who were friendly, and
who adverse to the bill. I shall now bend all my attention to the
Senate. There is a good disposition there, and I am now strongly
encouraged to think that my invention will be placed before the
country in such a position as to be properly appreciated, and to
yield to all its proprietors a proper compensation. I have no desire
to vaunt my exertions, but I can truly say that I have never passed
so trying a period as the last two months. Professor Fisher (who
has been of the greatest service to me) and I have been busy from
morning till night every day since we have been here.

" I have brought him on with me at my expense, and he will be

464 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

one of the first assistants in the first experimental line if the bill
passes. I shall want to see the proprietors together very soon after
my return to New York. Drop me a line after you receive this, and
let me know what you now think of matters. I received your letter
in answer to mine some time since. I intended to reply, but was
prevented by press of business at that time. All I will now say is,
it was just such a letter as I expected from my friend Smith. My
feelings at the prospect of success are of a joyous character, as you
may well believe, and one of the principal elements of my joy is,
that I shall be enabled to contribute to the happiness of all who
formerly assisted me, some of whom are at present specially de
pressed."

On the same day the Professor wrote to Mr. Alfred Tail :

" You will perceive, by the papers to-morrow, that my bill appro
priating thirty thousand dollars for a trial of the Telegraph, has just
passed the House by a vote of eighty-nine to eighty-three. It is
read a second time in the Senate, and I am now strongly in hopes
that it will be carried through the latter body, and become a law
before the 4th of March. You can have but a faint idea of the sac
rifices and trials I have had in getting the Telegraph thus far before
the country and the world. I cannot detail them here ; I can only
say that, for two years, I have labored all my time, and at my own
expense, without assistance from the other proprietors (except in
obtaining the iron of the magnets for the last instruments obtained
of you), to forward our enterprise ; my means to defray my expenses,
to meet which, every cent I owned in the world was collected, are
nearly all gone ; and if, by any means, the bill should fail in the
Senate, I shall return to New York, with the fraction of a dollar
in my pocket."

"I watched," says the Professor, writing to a friend in after-
years of this memorable day, " with intense interest the prog
ress and vicissitudes of the measure, through the House and then
through the Senate. I had staked all I possessed on the issue.
After much tantalizing delay the vote was taken in the House amid
many attempts, by ridicule, to defeat the measure. One member
moved that a portion of the appropriation should be given to a lect
urer on animal magnetism, to experiment on that subject, which
motion was tested and negatived by a vote and a count by tellers ;
another motion was made that a portion should be given to experi
ment on a railroad to the moon ; but, after much skirmishing of this

PASSAGE OF THE BILL. 465

sort, the vote was taken on the bill as reported from the committee,
and passed by a small majority. Notwithstanding this vote in the
House, there seemed to be a determination on the part of some in
the House, as was reported to me, to procure its defeat in the Senate.
The amount of business before the Senate rendered it more and
more doubtful, as the session drew to a close, whether the House
bill on the Telegraph would be reached; and on the last day, the
3d of March, 1843, I was advised, by one of my senatorial friends,
to make up my mind for failure, as he deemed it next to impossible
that it could be reached before the adjournment. The bill, however,
was reached a few moments before midnight, and passed. This
was the turning-point in the history of the Telegraph. My personal
funds were reduced to the fraction of a dollar, and, had the passage
of the bill failed from any cause, there would have been little pros
pect of another attempt on my part to introduce to the world my
new invention."

In the gallery of the Senate Professor Morse had sat all the
last day and evening of the session. At midnight the session
would close. Assured by his friends that there was no possi
bility of the bill being reached, he left the Capitol and retired to
his room at the hotel, dispirited, and wellnigh broken-hearted.
As lie came down to breakfast the next morning, a young lady
entered, and, coming toward Mm with, a smile, exclaimed :

" I have come to congratulate you ! "

" For what, my dear friend ? " asked the Professor, of the
young lady, who was Miss Annie Gr. Ellsworth, daughter of his
friend the Commissioner of Patents.

" On the passage of your bill."

The Professor assured her it was not possible, as he re
mained in the Senate-Chamber until nearly midnight, and it was
not reached. She then informed him that her father was present
until the close^ and, in the last moments of the session, the bill
was passed without debate or division. Professor Morse was
overcome by the intelligence, so joyful and unexpected, and
gave at the moment to his young friend, the bearer of these
good tidings, the promise that she should send the first message
over the first line of telegraph that was opened. To his partner,
Mr. Smith, he announced the result, dating his letter incor
rectly, in the excitement of the hour :
30

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

"WASHINGTON, March 3, 1843.

" Well, my dear sir, the matter is decided. The Senate have
just passed my bill without division, and without opposition, and
it will probably be signed by the President in a few hours. This I
think is news enough for you at present, and, as I have other letters
that I must write before the mail closes, I must say good-by until I
see you, or hear from you. Write to me in New York, where I
hope to be by the latter part of next week."

On the same day Professor Morse wrote to Mr. Yail these
calm but cheerful words :

" You will be glad to learn, doubtless, that my bill has passed
the Senate without a division, and without opposition, so that now
the telegraphic enterprise begins to look bright. I shall want to
see you in New York after my return, which will probably be the
latter part of next week. I have other letters to write, so excuse
the shortness of this, which, IF SHORT, is SWEET, at least. My kind
regards to your father, mother, brothers, sisters, and wife. The
.whole delegation of your State, without exception, deserve the
highest gratitude of us all."

That is the most cheerful letter he had written in ten years.
It is " short, but sweet," and expressed the joy of Ms heart at
the appropriation by Government of the means by which his
long and painful struggle was to be made a permanent success.

DEATH OF WASHINGTON ALLSTON.

In the midst of his elation in the prospect of now seeing his
Telegraph fully developed, an event occurred that deeply touched
him, and with sorrow more intense than the death of any one
but his wife had ever brought with it.

The friendship of Allston and Morse had been intimate and
beautiful. On the part of Morse it was in some degree filial.
The condescension and kindness of the teacher, while Morse was
his pupil, were such as to draw Mm to the heart of Allston as
to an equal and friend.

Mr. Morse received the stunning intelligence of the death of
Allston, which occurred July 9, 1843, and hastened to Boston
and Cambridge to the house of Ms departed friend. The brush !

ALLSTON'S LAST LETTER TO MORSE.

with which Allston was engaged at the time of his departure
was still moist with the paint that he was laying upon the last
canvas that he had touched, " The Feast of Belshazzar." Mr.
Morse begged this as a memorial of his friend. He afterward
presented it to the National Academy of Design, where, it is
preserved with care.

Saddened by this bereavement, he returned after the funeral
to New York and Washington, with the feeling that one less
was living to rejoice in the success that was now opening before
him. Allston had been among the first to congratulate, him,
when the appropriation bill passed the House. The last letter
Professor Morse ever received from him contained these cheer
ing words :

"March 24, 1843.

" All your friends here join me in rejoicing at the passing of
the act of Congress, appropriating thirty thousand dollars toward
carrying out your Electro-Magnetic Telegraph. I congratulate you
with all my heart. Shakespeare says, ' There is a tide in the af
fairs of men that, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.' You are
now fairly launched on what I hope will prove to you another Pac-
tolus. I pede fausto ! This has been but a melancholy year to
me. I have been ill with one complaint or another nearly the
whole time ; the last disorder, the erysipelas, but this has now near
ly disappeared. I hope this letter will meet you as well in health
as I take it you are now in spirits."

Professor Morse replied :

" I thank you, my dear sir, for your congratulations in regard to
my telegraphic enterprise. I hope I shall not disappoint the ex
pectations of my friends. I shall exert all my energies to show a
complete and satisfactory result. When I last wrote you from
Washington, I wrote under the apprehension that my bill would
not be acted upon, and that I should have another year's perplex
ing delay, and consequently I wrote in very low spirits. ' What
has become of Painting ? ' I think I hear you ask. Ah, my dear sir,
when I have diligently and perseveringly wooed the coquettish
jade for twenty years, and she then jilts me, what can I do ? But
I do her injustice, she is not to blame, but her guardian for the time
being. I shall not give her up yet in despair, but pursue her even
with lightning, and so overtake her at last. I am now absorbed in
my arrangements for fulfiling my designs with the Telegraph, in

468

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

accordance with the act of Congress. I know not that I shall be
able to complete my experiment before Congress meet again, but I
shall endeavor to show it to them at their next session."

Professor Morse requested the brother-in-law of Mr. Allston
to write him a letter, giving a minute account of the last mo
ments in the life of the illustrious painter, and Mr. Dana com
plied with his request within a week after the mournful event
occurred. It is in these beautiful words :

" BOSTON, July 14, 1843.

" MY DEAR SIK : Your old friend, and one who spoke of you
often with deep affection, was taken from us most suddenly, and I
may say most unexpectedly ; for, though he seemed to be failing
fast, his friends had no suspicion of a disease of the organs that
would take him away instantly. The great arteries were not es
sentially impaired ; but one or two that fed the heart itself were
ossified. While none of the intestinal organs would be said to be
in a healthy state, none, with the exception of those I have men
tioned as being ossified, were in so diseased a condition that he

might not have lived some years longer* So long ago as when

took a bust of him, his friends thought he would not live long ; but
he recruited. The winter before last he was severely ill, and we
feared for him then. From that attack he but partially recovered,
and from that time was plainly, with short terms of a better state,
a broken-down, failing man. His strength was not sufficient for
his labor ; and, while .his intellect was as clear as ever, it was evi
dent that the servant, the body, was too much weakened to do its
appointed work. He spoke of himself as an old, broken-down
man. It was plain, his wife says, from the dreadful depression he
was under for the last ten months, when his friends were not round
him, that he was suffering under the apprehension he should not
have strength to finish what he was about. God, in his mercy,
spared him from living on with this thought to prey upon him, and
took him away in a moment, but with a touch as gentle as the
breaking morning light. Both my sisters and my daughter were
there, preparatory to leaving him for the summer. All but my
daughter went to bed. She sat talking with him. He was strongly
attached to her ; and had spoken of her most affectionately, as he
was wont to do, the last time I saw him. < I like to talk to her, for
she always takes my meaning at once,' he said to me. He said many v
kind things to her this last night. * You are my niece,' said he. ' You

ALLSTON'S DEATH-SCENE. 459

are more to me — you are my child. There are relations nearer
than those of blood.' Twice he put his arms gently round her, and
the second time kissed her forehead, and then lowered his head for
her to kiss his cheek. He then looked upward, and his eyes were
as if he was seeing into the world of holiness and all peace, and
he said, c I want you to be perfect, perfect.' . . . * I do not feel like
talking,' he soon added, sat down, drew a chair to him for her to
sit by him, took her hand, and occasionally spoke in somewhat the
same strain. Between twelve and one o'clock he complained of a
pain in the chest ; he had felt the same once before, about three
weeks previous to this. She advised his taking something for it,
not thinking of it, however, as any thing of much importance ; so
that, when he went up to his wife's chamber to get what she rec
ommended, she herself went off to bed. He moved about as usual,
and, when his wife offered to go dowrn and prepare something, he
answered : ' Oh, no ! I can do it just as well myself.' He went
down again. She stopped to get something which she thought he
might want, and followed him in five minutes. She found him sit
ting in his usual place, with his writing apparatus, which he had
just taken out, near him, his feet on the hearth, and his head rest
ing on the back of his chair, in just the position in which he often
took his nap. She went up to him ; his eyes were open, and, from
their appearance, she thought he might have fainted. They were
all instantly with him. One of my sisters said to him, ' Mr. Allston,
we are all here.' His eyes soon closed. A physician was called,
they, in the mean time, doing all they could to revive him. There
is very little doubt that life had stopped when his wife reached him.
His physician says that he must have gone without a moment's
pain — that it was a mere closing.

" So beautiful an expression as was on his face, as he lay sleep
ing in Jesus, I never saw on the face of man. Spirits were with his
spirit. And a most humble being he was before his God. In
Chpst and the great atonement was his only trust. Trust, do I say ?
it was his realized, fervid life. Not a fortnight before his death he
opened his whole soul to the clergyman here — a mcst interesting
man — who told me that such childlike, undoubting faith, it was
delightful to sit and hear poured forth. Let us all pray that we
may be prepared to meet him in that world where anguish of mind
which the circumstances of life brought upon him, and which was
the prime cause that broke him down, is all passed away, and he
now a blessed spirit among the blessed !

470

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE,

" I am aware how much your time is occupied, yet I must beg
of you to look over your letters, and to let me have any that you
may have of Allston. Depend upon it they will not be used in any
way that you would think objectionable. I must further request
of you to begin from your first acquaintance with him, and to write
me all that you can recollect about him— his doings — his sayings.
And I beg of you to give me your views of him as an artist ; there
are very few qualified to do this. It will be in safe hands ; and I
trust some memoir of him will be prepared. I need not urge this
a second time ; for, busy as you are, I know that love can find time
to do what it would, and I know that you loved Allston exceed
ingly. My heart can hardly bear it when I think what his beauti
ful spirit suffered, and yet it is continually going back to it. The t
God of peace be with you ! RICHAED H. DANA.

" To SAMUEL F. B. MORSE, Esq."

A few days afterward Mr. Dana wrote again :

"MY DEAR SIB : I wrote you a few days ago. Since that time
I have seen the account of the meeting of your Academy, and find
that a committee is appointed to procure a bust of our departed
friend. I write again thus early to make you acquainted with the
fact that we employed Brackett, the afternoon of poor Allston's
death, to take a cast from the face. We did this because, all the
time that Clevenger was here, Allston was in a wretched state
of health, suffering under almost continual pain in the face, pro
ducing an expression of distress and a rigid state of the muscles.
So ill was he, that a friend, \vho had seen him for two or three
months, upon coming out of the painting-room, where he was sit
ting to Clevenger, said to me : * Allston cannot stay with us much
longer; that Clevenger did so well as he has done in the marble, is
surprising.' But so beautiful was the countenance after death, so
softened the muscles, and rounded and smoothed the face, that he
looked as he did years back, before disease and distress of mind had '
so preyed upon him. Brackett has this advantage, besides having
seen Mr. A. in better states of health than C. was fortunate enough
to see him in. He has long had a great desire to model Mr. A.'s
head; and of his power his bust of me, but especially that of Bry
ant, may be said to settle the question. ... I have written to you
rather than to the committee, as I am but slightly acquainted with
only one of them, Mr. Gray ; and what I might say to you, as Mr.
A.'s friend, I could not say without some appearance of improper
interference.

ALLSTON'S LAST PICTURE. 471

" My sister is calm ; it seems almost as if he had left her the in
fluence of his spirit as he departed. But in Christ is her, and, I
trust, our support.

" I cannot seal this without telling you how deeply touched we
all were with what you said of poor A. It was the heart pouring-
out its sorrows. You know not, my dear sirj with what affection
Allston always spoke of you, and, let me add, how highly he
thought of your powers as an artist.

" Very sincerely yours,

H. DANA."

The condition in which Allston's " Belshazzar " was left by
his sudden death led to an earnest request from the family
that Professor Morse would come and give his opinion as to the
best course to be pursued in putting it into a state for exhibi
tion. He went immediately, upon receiving a request to that
effect from Mr. Franklin Dexter, and on his return Mr. Dana
writes to him :

" Your coming immediately upon a line from Mr. Dexter was no
more than what we expected ; for we knew well how deep was your
love for our departed friend, and that you would not account any
thing as labor or trouble which concerned his memory. At the
same time it was very gratifying to us all, and a true comfort. . . .

" I wish you could have seen more of Allston, particularly within
the last year of his life. Frequent use of terms, and especially a
cant use of them, is apt to deaden their force and significancy,
even with those who have a spirit fitted for them ; yet, let me say,
that, if ever heavenly -mindedness showed itself in its life and
beauty, it made itself visible in the mind of Allston — humble, child
like — himself nothing, Christ all things — love overflowed him, and
the harmony of the upper world permeated him, and harmonized
for him all Nature and all art. These were not separated from his
religious life, because they were taken up into it and sanctified and
made beautiful. How few really feel and understand that term,
the beauty of holiness ! ' Yet one is almost afraid to speak in this
way, so mournfully has a self-presuming spiritualism desecrated
spiritual things. May God bless you, my dear sir ; and, through the
trials which He has laid upon you, may you be fitted for that pros
perity which, in his good providence, I trust, is now awaiting you ! "

That Allston lived to see the great work of his pupil and

472 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE.

friend accomplished was a source of the highest satisfaction to
Mr. Horse. It was his justification for having turned away
from his profession as an artist to make an achievement in
science which was destined to confer happiness upon his fellow-
men. The appropriation of the money by Congress for build
ing the line from Baltimore to "Washington was the act that
gave not only the pledge of success, but also the means of its
final accomplishment. Mr. Morse was now emphatically alone
in the world. His wife, his parents, Leslie, Allston, West, and
all those to whom his early years of struggle had been known,
were dead. He had made new acquaintances and .associations,
but friendships formed after middle life never take the place
of those with which the pursuits and aspirations of youth are
identified.

CHAPTEE XI.

1843-1844.

PREPARATIONS TO LAY THE FIRST LINE — USE OF TUBES UNDERGROUND —
EZRA CORNELL — TUBES ABANDONED — LINES PUT UPON POLES — EXPERI
MENTS WITH 160 MILES OF WIRE — PROFESSOR HENRY'S LETTER — PROGRESS

OF THE WORK NATIONAL WHIG- CONVENTION — NOMINATION OF HENRY

CLAY ANNOUNCED AT WASHINGTON BY TELEGRAPH — THE LINE COMPLETE
— THE FIRST MESSAGE — TRIUMPH OF THE INVENTOR — HIS LETTER TO
BISHOP STEVENS — NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION — JAMES K. POLK
NOMINATED — CONFERENCE WITH SILAS WRIGHT — WORKING OF THE TELE
GRAPH — PROFESSOR MORSE'S REPORT OF THE COMPLETION OF THE LINE
— ENTHUSIASM OF THE PRESS AND THE PUBLIC — TELEGRAPH OFFERED TO
THE GOVERNMENT — DETERMINING THE LONGITUDE.

THE appropriation by Congress having been made, Professor
Morse proceeded with energy and delight to construct the
first line of his Electric Telegraph. It was obviously important
that it should be laid where it would the most powerfully attract
the attention of the Government, the country, and the world,
and this consideration decided the question in favor of a line
between Washington and Baltimore. Professor Morse, without
any delay, addressed these communications to the Secretary of
the Treasury :

"WASHINGTON, March 8, 1843.
u To the Hon. the Secretary of the Treasury.

" SIR : I have the honor to inclose to you the report of the
House Committee of Commerce, on the subject of my Electro-Mag
netic Telegraph. The bill which accompanies the report has become
a law, and I am desirous, with the least possible delay, to commence
my operations, that I may have the telegraphic line contemplated
by the bill completed, ready for your next report, and for the ex
amination of the next Congress. I am aware that just at this mo-

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE.

merit your valuable time must be occupied in the more pressing
duties of your new office, and I am therefore unwilling to intrude
upon you. But as there is some preliminary information necessary
in order that you may form the better judgment on those subjects
submitted to you, particularly as to the eligibility of the route to
be determined for the trial, I will proceed immediately to ascertain
these points, and will return to Washington and wait upon you
again when you are more at leisure. I have thought, if it should
meet your approbation, of establishing the telegraphic line between
Baltimore and Washington, but whether along the line of the turn
pike or railroad, cannot well be determined until I can have an inter
view with the stockholders of the two companies.

" With sincere respect, your obedient servant,

"SAMUEL F. B. MORSE."

"WASHINGTON, D. C., March 10, 1843.

" DEAR SIR : In compliance with your request this morning, I
give you the plan I propose for my operations, in fulfillment of the
design contemplated by the act of the late Congress i to test the
practicability and efficacy ' of my system of Electro-Magnetic Tele
graphs. I propose immediately to procure the necessary quantity
of wire, which must first be prepared with its insulating covering
before the subsequent operation of inclosing in tubes, or laying
them in the earth, can be performed. Many interesting experiments
bearing upon the general result can then be tried before the wire
is inclosed. When inclosed in tubes other experiments of the same
character may be tried before laying them in the ground. The tele
graphic instruments should also be in progress of making. I propose
to lay the experimental line between Baltimore and Washington.
I propose to make some experiments on the forms of galvanic bat
teries, and magnets, and in modes of crossing rivers, with the elec
tric fluid. I desire to have two assistants, to aid me in my labors,
Professor Fisher and Professor Gale, of New York, who have been
for a long time associated with me in my experiments.

" In regard to the kind of tubes necessary, Colonel Talcott, to
whom you had the kindness to give me a letter, is decidedly of opin
ion that lead is preferable to all other substances, both for durabil
ity and cheapness. For the proposed experiment at least, I think
lead is preferable.

" I have copied below the general estimate.

" I would say in conclusion that I shall remain in the city until

ESTIMATE OF COST. 475

Monday morning, and will call at the chief clerk's office in the De
partment before three o'clock to-morrow (Saturday) for the Honor
able Secretary's answer, if ready ; if not, I should feel obliged to
have his answer forwarded to me in New York, where my address
is No. 142 Nassau Street.

" I remain with sincere respect, your obedient servant,

"S. F. B. MORSE.

" To the Hon. J. C. SPENCER, Secretary of the Treasury.

" General Estimate for the Experimental Essay with the Electro-Magnetic
Telegraph, provided for ~by the Act of Twenty -seventh Congress, Third
Session, House Bill 641.

1. Rooms to be rented for preparing the work, per annum, . $600 00

2. Copper wire, No. 16, and its preparation with cotton and

insulating varnish, four lengths of forty miles, . . 6,000 00

3. Lead pipe for forty miles, 10,000 00

4. Delivery of the pipe and wire, and passing the wire into the

pipe, 1,400 00

6. Machinery, registers, and correspondents, galvanic batteries,

magnets, acids, etc., 500 00

6. Survey of the route between Baltimore and Washington, both

railroad and turnpike, uncertain, say, . . . 300 00

7. Engineering, laying down and protecting wires, . . 6,120 00

8. Experiments on forms of batteries, etc., not more than . 500 00

$25,420 00"

To this letter he received the following reply :

" TREASURY DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, March 14, 1843.

" SIK : I have received your communication of the 10th instant,
stating the plan of operations you propose, for fulfilling the object
of the act of Congress to test the practicability of establishing a
system of Electro-Magnetic Telegraphs by the United States.

" In general, I approve the plan proposed by you. The compen
sation of the two assistants whom you propose to employ ought,
however, to be fixed before they are engaged, and you will report
to the Department the amount or rate which you deem reasonable.
Some arrangement in respect to your own compensation should also
be made, either in reference to the wThole undertaking, or to the
time which may be devoted to it.

" In order to preserve a proper check over the expenditures, and
to conform to the established practice of the Department, previous to
the conclusion of any contract for materials, or for any work by the
job, you will submit the same to this Department for its approval.

476 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Of course this does not apply to the hiring of laborers by the day
or the month, although the rates of wages proposed to be paid, in
such case, should be submitted to the Department. An advance of
a reasonable sum, to enable you to commence your operations, will
be made on your requisition, stating the amount and object, and
designating the place at which you desire the same to be paid or
transmitted to you. And, as the operations proceed, such sums will
be paid from time to time, as may be necessary, on similar requisi
tions. As you will be held accountable for all moneys paid on your
application, you will find it necessary to be exceedingly careful to
take vouchers in duplicate for all sums expended by you. You
will be required to account monthly, at least, for the amounts re
ceived, and no advance or payments will be made while there shall
remain any considerable sum unaccounted for. It may be well for
you to devolve on one of your assistants the duties of a disbursing
agent, and of keeping the accounts of the experiment.
" Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

" J. C. SPENCEK, Secretary of the Treasury.
" To SAMUEL F. B. MORSE, Esq."

Returning to New York, Mr. Morse proceeded without de
lay to organize the system for the construction of the experi
mental line. He writes to Mr. Yail :

" NEW YORK, March 15, 1843.

" You will not fail, with your brother, and, if possible, your
father, to be in New York on Tuesday, the 21st, to meet the propri
etors of the Telegraph. I was upon the point of coming out this
afternoon to Speedwell to see you, with young Mr. Serrell, the
patentee of the lead-pipe machine, which I think promises to be the
best for our purposes, of all that have been invented, as to it can
be applied ' a mode of filling lead-pipes with wire,' for which Pro
fessor Fisher and myself have entered a caveat at the Patent-
Office."

Mr. Vail replied :

" As an assistant in the telegraphic experiment contemplated
by act of Congress, lately passed, I can superintend and procure
th^ making of the instruments complete according to your direc
tion, namely, the register, the correspondents with their magnets,
the batteries, the reels and the paper, and will attend to the pro
curing of the acids, the ink, and the preparation of the various

ASSISTANTS APPOINTED. 477

stations. I will assist in fitting the tubes with wire, and the resin
ous coating, etc., and I will devote my whole time and attention to
the business, so as to secure a favorable result, and, should you wish
to devolve upon me any other business connected with the Tele
graph, I will cheerfully undertake it. Three dollars per diem, with
travelling expenses, I shall deem a satisfactory salary."

Mr. Morse immediately appointed as his assistants Professor
L. D. Gale and Professor J. C. Fisher. Mr. Yail was to devote
his time and attention to the making of instruments under the
direction of Mr. Morse, and to the purchase of materials. Pro
fessor Fisher was to superintend the preparation of the wire,
from its manufacture to the placing of it in the tubes, as origi
nally proposed. Professor Gale was to give his personal atten
tion to the work of construction at such points as Mr. Morse
should consider necessary. Mr. Morse himself, as general su
perintendent, under the appointment of the Government,
gave attention to the minutest details. Every cent that was
disbursed passed through his hands. In point of accuracy,
attention to the smallest expenditures, the preservation of
vouchers, and the presentation of accounts, General Washing
ton himself, whose books are models for all disbursing officers,
was not more precise, lucid, and correct. Mr. Morse made
monthly reports to the Secretary of the Treasury, presenting
the exact state of his accounts, together with vouchers for all
his expenditures. Duplicates of these, carefully preserved, pre
sent the most beautiful evidence of his particularity in the man
agement of business matters, and his fidelity in public trusts.

Mr. Ezra Cornell1 had invented a machine to lay pipe, to
contain conducting-lines for telegraphic purposes, and he was
employed to take charge of the works, under the superintend
ence of Mr. Morse. The work was commenced at the old
Baltimore and Washington Depot, on the hill, on the east side
of the railroad-track, and was continued until it was satisfac
torily proved, by repeated experiments, that the plan of tubes
in the earth would not succeed. Two-thirds of the appropria-

1 Mr. Cornell, who was thus early connected with the Telegraph, being employed
at a salary of one thousand dollars a year, became one of the most successful con-
structors and largest proprietors of telegraphs, and the founder of Cornell Univer
sity.

478 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

tion were expended, and it was estimated that it would require
nearly as large a sum as the original appropriation to complete
the work, with no prospect of success when it was finished.
When the pipe had been laid as far as the Kelay House, Pro
fessor Morse came to Mr. Cornell and expressed a desire to have
the work arrested until he could try further experiments, but
he was very anxious that nothing should be said or done to give
to the public the impression that the enterprise had failed. Mr.
Cornell said he could easily manage it, and stepping up to
the machine, which was drawn by a team of eight mules, he
cried out, " Hurrah, boys ! we must lay another length of pipe
before we quit." The teamsters cracked their whips over
the mules, and they started on a lively pace. Mr. Cornell
grasped the handles of the plough, and, watching an opportuni
ty, canted it so as to catch the point of a rock, and broke it to
pieces, while Professor Morse stood looking on. Consultations,
long and painful, followed. The anxiety of Professor Morse
at this period was greater than at any previous hour known
in the history of his invention. Some that were around him
had serious apprehensions that he would not stand up under
the pressure. Professor Morse's account of the abandonment
of the tubes and the employment of poles was given in these
words :

" Much time and expense were lost in consequence of my fol
lowing the plan adopted in England of laying the conductors be
neath the ground. At the time the Telegraph bill was passed,
there had been 'about thirteen miles of telegraph-conductors, for
Professor Wheatstone's telegraph system in England, put into
tubes and interred in the earth ; and there was no hint publicly
given that that mode was not perfectly successful. I did not feel,
therefore, at liberty to expend the public moneys in useless experi
ments on a plan which seemed to be already settled as effective in
England. Hence I fixed upon this mode as one supposed to be the
best. It was prosecuted till the winter of 1843-'44. It was aban
doned, among other reasons, in consequence of ascertaining that, in
the process of inserting the wire into the leaden tubes (which was
at the moment of forming the tube from the lead at melting heat),
the insulating covering of the wires had become charged at various
and numerous points of the line to such an extent that greater

TELEGRAPH ON POLES. 479

delay, and expense would be necessary to repair the damage than
to put the wire on posts. In my letter to the Secretary of the
Treasury, of September 27, 1837, one of the modes of laying the
conductors for the Telegraph was the present almost universal one
of extending them on posts set about two hundred feet apart. This
mode was adopted with success."

In his letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, dated Sep
tember 27, 1837, he said : " If the circuit is laid through the
air, the first cost would, doubtless, be much lessened. Stout
spars, of some thirty feet in height, well planted in the ground,
and placed about three hundred and fifty feet apart, would,
in this case, be required, along the tops of which the circuit
might be stretched." Mr. Cornell remembers an interesting
discussion which now arose as to the mode of fastening the wires
to the poles. He says :

" In the latter part of March Professor Morse gave me the order
to put the wires on poles, and the question at once arose as to the
mode of fastening the wires to the poles, and the insulation of them
at the point of fastening. I submitted a plan to the Professor
which, I was confident, would be successful as an insulating me
dium, and which was easily available then, and inexpensive. Mr.
Vail also submitted a plan for the same purpose, which involved
the necessity of going to New York or New Jersey to get it exe
cuted. Professor Morse gave preference to Mr. Vail's plan, and
started for New York to get the fixtures, directing me to get the
wire ready for use, and arrange for setting the poles. At the end
of a week Professor Morse returned from New York, and came to
the shop where I was at work, and said he wanted to provide the
insulators for putting the wires on the poles upon the plan I had
suggested, to which I responded: 'How is that, Professor? I
thought you had decided to use Mr. Vail's plan.' Professor Morse
replied : ' Yes, I did so decide, and on my way to New York, where
I went to order the fixtures, I stopped at Princeton, and called on
my old friend Professor Henry, who inquired how I was getting
along with my Telegraph. I explained to him the failure of the
insulation in the pipes, and stated that I had decided to place the
wires on poles in the air. He then inquired how I proposed to
insulate the wires when they were attached to the poles. I showed
him the model I had of Mr. Vail's plan, and he said, " It will not

480 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

do ; you will meet the same difficulty you had in the pipes." I then
explained to him your plan, which he said would answer.' ':

In August, 1843, he wrote to the Secretary of the Treasury,
giving the result of some important experiments :

" NEW YORK, August 10, 1843.

" SIE : I have the honor herewith to transmit my fifth monthly
report of expenditures, under the act of the last Congress, for c test
ing the practicability of establishing a system of Electro-Magnetic
Telegraphs for the United States.'

" I also take this opportunity of communicating to the Honor
able Secretary the result of the experiments, made on the 8th in
stant, with the prepared wire in one continuous line of one hun
dred and sixty miles. Professors Renwick, Draper, Ellet, and
Schaeffer, with my assistants, Professors Fisher and Gale, were
present by invitation ; Professors Silliman, Henry, Torrey, and Dr.
Chilton, were also invited, but were prevented by official duties
from attending.

" In the letter to the Honorable Secretary, dated March 10, 1843,
in which I propose my general plan, I have this remark, speak
ing of the wire after its insulating preparations should be com
pleted : ' Many interesting experiments bearing upon the general
result can then be tried before the wire is inclosed.'

" The experiments alluded to were tried on Tuesday, and with
perfect success. I had prepared a galvanic battery of three hun
dred pairs, in order to have ample power at command, but to my
great gratification I found that one hundred pairs were sufficient
to produce all the effects I desired through the whole distance of
one hundred and sixty miles !

" It may be well to observe that the hundred and sixty miles of
wire are to be divided into four lengths of forty miles each, forming
a fourfold cord from Washington to Baltimore. Two wires form a
circuit ; the electricity, therefore, in producing its effects at Wash
ington from Baltimore, passes from Baltimore to Washington, and
back again to Baltimore, of course traveling eighty miles to produce
its result. One hundred and sixty miles, therefore, gives me an act
ual distance of eighty miles, double the distance from Washington
to Baltimore. The result, then, of my experiments on Tuesday is,
that a battery of only hundred pairs at Washington will operate a
Telegraph on my plan eighty miles distant with certainty, and with
out requiring any intermediate station !

THE OCEAN TELEGRAPH. 481

" Some careful experiments on the decomposing power of various
distances were made, from which the law of propulsion has been
deduced, verifying the results of Ohm, and those which I made in
the summer of 1842, and alluded to in my letter to the Hon. C. G.
Ferris, and published in the House Report, No. 17, of the last Con
gress.

" The practical inference from this law is, that a telegraphic
communication on the Electro-Magnetic plan may with certainty
be established ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN ! Startling as this may
now seem, I am confident the time will come when this project will
be realized.

" The wire is now in its last process of preparation for inclosing
in the lead tube, which will be commenced on Tuesday, the 15th
instant. I have the honor to be, sir, with sincere respect, your
most obedient servant,

"SAMUEL F. B. MORSE,
" Superintendent of Electro-Magnetic Telegraph.

"To the Hon. JOHN C. SPENCER, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States"

"TREASURY DEPARTMENT, August 15, 1843.

" Professor S. F. JB. Morse, Superintendent of Electro-Magnetic

Telegraph^ JVew York.

" SIR : The accounts and vouchers inclosed in your letter of the
10th instant, have been referred to the First Auditor for adjustment.
I am gratified with the result of the experiments made with the
Electro-Magnetic Telegraph, and trust the country will have reason
to be satisfied with the result of your labors.

" I am, etc.,
(Signed) " J. C. SPENCER, Secretary of the Treasury."

The important experiments alluded to in this letter were
illustrated in a communication made by him to tSilliman's Jour
nal of Science.

YORK, September 4, 1843.
" DEAR SIRS : On the 8th of August, having completed my prep
arations of one hundred and sixty miles of copper wire for ihe Elec
tro-Magnetic Telegraph, which I am constructing for the Govern
ment, I invited several scientific friends to witness some experiments
in verification of the law of Lenz, of the action of galvanic electricity
31

482

LIFE OF SAMUEL B. F. MORSE.

through wires of great lengths. I put in action a cup battery of
one hundred pairs, which I had constructed, based on the excellent
plan of Professor Grove, but with some modifications of my own,
economizing the platinum. The wire was reeled upon eighty reels,
containing two miles upon each reel, so that any length, from two
to one hundred and sixty miles, could be made at pleasure to con
stitute the circuit. My first trial of the battery was through the
entire length of one hundred and sixty miles, making of course a
circuit of eighty miles, and the magnetism induced in my electro
magnet,1 which formed a part of the circuit, was sufficient to
move with great strength my telegraphic lever. Even forty-
eight cups produced action in the lever, but not so promptly or
surely.

" We then commenced a series of experiments upon decompo
sition, at various distances. The battery alone (one hundred pairs)
gave, in the measuring-gauge, in one minute, 5.20 inches of gas.
When four miles of wire were interposed, the result was 1.20 inches ;
ten miles of wire, .57 ; twenty miles, .30 inches ; fifty miles, .094.
The results obtained from a battery of one hundred pairs are pro
jected in the following curve :

1 In Professor Daniel's "Introduction to the Study of Chemical Philosophy,"
second edition, 1843, there are these facts to be noticed:

In the preface, there are these words : " It only remains for me now, to acknowl
edge my obligations to my friends and colleagues, Professor Wheatstone and Dr. Todd,
for their great kindness in undergoing the disagreeable labor of revising and cor
recting the proof-sheets. They have thereby prevented many errors which -would
have otherwise deformed the work."

No statement then of Professor Daniel's, particularly in that part of his work
which related especially to Wheatstone's Telegraph, would be allowed to pass un
noticed by Mr. Wheatstone, and we are authorized in considering any such state
ment as having his sanction.

We then find, page 576, the following statement : " Ingenious as Professor
Wheatstone's contrivances are, they would have been of no avail for telegraphic pur
poses, without the investigation which he was the first to make of the laws of elec
tro-magnets, when acted on through great lengths of wire. Electro-magnets of the
greatest power, even when the most energetic batteries are employed, utterly cease to act
when they are connected by considerable lengths of wire with the battery.'"

If any thing were needed to show that Professor Wheatstone was not the in
ventor of the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph, it is this assertion (under the supervision
of Professor Wheatstone) made by Professor Daniel. In 1843 Professor Wheat-
stone had not made the discovery upon which Professor Morse bases his invention,
viz., that electro-magnets can be made to act, with an inconsiderable battery too, when
the latter is connected with the former by considerable lengths of wire ; eighty miles
may certainly be considered as of considerable length.

TABULATED RESULTS.
1 2 3

Table constructed from the Curve.

Battery alone, 5.20 inches.
1 mile 3.85 "

2

miles

2.62

tt

3

u

1.84

(C

4

it

1.20

it

5

it

1.05

tl

6

tt

.92

tl

7

tl

.80

11

8

It

.71

It

9

tl

.64

It

10

It

.57

tt

20

tl

.30

tl

30

11

.20

It

40

11

.14

tt

50

It

.094

It

" During the previous summer, I made the following experi
ments, upon a line of thirty-three miles, of No. 17 copper wire,
with a battery of fifty pairs. In this case. I used a small steel
yard, with weights, with which I was enabled to weigh, with a
good degree of accuracy, the greater magnetic forces, but not the
lesser, yet sufficiently approximating the recent results to confirm
the law in question.

484

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Table of Results.

" 50 pairs through 2 miles attracted and raised 9 ozs.
4. « « « 4. «

3 "
«

6

8 "
10 "
12 "

14 " " " 4- "

and each successive addition of two miles, up to 33, still gave an
attractive and lifting power of one-eighth of an ounce.

Curve from these JResults.

Miles. \oz. 23
i I i I i I i I i I i i

5678
I i I i 1 i I i I i I i I i I

30-

A great irregularity is seen between the
tenth and twelfth miles, which is due, un
doubtedly, to a deficiency of accuracy in
the weighing apparatus. I take pleasure
in sending you the following calculation of
the law of the conducting power of wires,
for which I am indebted to my friend Pro
fessor Draper, of the New York City Uni
versity.

1 c It has been objected that, if the conducting power of wires
for electricity was inversely as their length, and directly as their
section, the transmission of telegraphic signals, through long wires,
could not be carried into effect, and even the galvanic multiplier,

EXPLANATION OF THE RULE. 485

which consists, essentially, of a wire making several convolutions
round a needle, could have no existence. This last objection was
brought forward by Professor Ritchie, of the University of London,
as an absolute proof that the law referred to is incorrect. There
is, however, an exceedingly simple method of proving that signals
may be dispatched through very long wires, and that the galvanic
multiplier, so far from controverting the law in question, depends
for its very existence upon it.

" t Assuming the truth of the law of Lenz, the quantities of elec
tricity which can be urged by a constant electro-motoric source
through a series of wires, the length of which constitutes an arith
metical ratio, will always be in a geometrical ratio. Now, the
curve whose ordinates and abscissas bear this relation to each other,
is the logarithmic curve whose equation is ay=x. •

" ' 1. If we suppose the base cf the system, which the curve
under discussion represents, be greater than unity, the values of y
taken between ic=0, and aj=l, must be all negative.

"42. By taking 2/=0, we find that the curve will intersect the
axis of the tc's at a distance from the origin, equal to unity.

"'3. By making x=Q, we find y to be infinite and negative.
Now, these are the properties of the logarithmic curve, which fur
nish an explanation of the case in hand. Assuming that the a's
represent the quantities of electricity, and the y's the length of
the wires, we perceive at once that those parts of the curve which
we have to consider lie wholly in the fourth quadrant, where the
abscissas are positive and the ordinates negative. When, therefore,
the battery-current passes without the intervention of any obstruct
ing wire, its value is equal to unity. But, as successive lengths of
wire are continually added, the quantities of electricity passing
undergo a diminution, at first rapid, and then more and more slow.
And it is not until the wire becomes infinitely long that it ceases
to conduct at all; for the ordinate y, when x=Q, is an asymptote
to the curve. In point of practice, therefore, when a certain limit
is reached, the diminution of the intensity of the forces becomes
very small, while the increase in the lengths of the wire is vastly
great. It is, therefore, possible to conceive a wire .to be a million
times as long as another, and yet the two shall transmit quantities
of electricity not perceptibly different, when measured by a delicate
galvanometer. But, under these circumstances, if the long wire
be coiled, so as to act as a multiplier, its influence on the needle
will be inexpressibly greater than the one so much shorter than it.

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOESE.

Further, from this we gather that for telegraphic dispatches, with
a battery of given electro-motoric power, when a certain distance
is reached, the diminution of effect for an increased distance be
comes inappreciable.' "

To the invitation of Professor Morse to assist at the great
experiment mentioned in the foregoing letter, Professor Henry
replied :

"PRINCETON, August 22, 1843.

"MY PEAK SIR: I hope you will pardon me for not before ac
knowledging the receipt of your kind letters of invitation to attend
your galvanic exhibition. My time has been so much occupied dur
ing the last three weeks, with an extra course of lectures, and our
senior examination, and so little at my own disposal, that I was un
able to say whether I could be in the city on the day you men
tioned or not. I did hope, however, to get away, but the exami
nation prevented. Dr. Torrey was also engaged, and could not
leave. I do not know, however, that I could have done much in
the way of original experiments in the course of a single day. I
am not quick in the process of inventing experiments, unless my
mind is thoroughly aroused to the subject by several days' exclusive
attention to the work, and then I am often obliged to pause be
tween each effort. I have not been able, since I last saw you, to
devise a satisfactory process for determining the velocity of galvanic
electricity, and, on reflection, I did not think it worth the expense
which would be incurred to have a machine constructed for the
mere repetition of the experiments of Wheatstone.

" I think it probable that I shall visit the city next week, as I
shall be unemployed from this time until a week from next Mon
day. If there is any prospect of your repeating any of your ex
periments previous to that time, I will be with you on any day you
may appoint. With much respect and esteem, yours truly.

"JOSEPH HENKY.
"Professor MORSE.

" P. S. — I have found no mention in my number of the Comptes
Rendus, of the French Academy, of the proofs you mention rela
tive to the increasing of the power of the electro-magnet, and do
not believe that any thing new of any importance has lately been
published on that subject. J. H."

The experimental line was now approaching its completion.

APPROACHING THE EXD. 487

Professor 'Morse issued the following order to Mr. Cornell, dated
in Washington, March 13, 1844 :

" SIR: After you have had the wire for the pipe drawn in, suffi
cient to reach the Capitol from the Patent-Office, or at farthest by
next Monday morning, you will proceed at once to the preparation
of the wire for the posts, passing it through the insulating medium,
soldering and covering the joints, and have it reeled up in such a
manner as in your judgment shall be most convenient to place on
the posts where they are set. You will take the superintendence
of this part, and put on as much force as shall be consistent with
safety, so as to have the whole of the wire prepared by the end of
the week ending March 23, 1844. Report to me what additional
force you need before."

The work went on. Among the loose papers of Professor
Morse are lying the memoranda of those days when he was watch
ing the progress of the work, and noting, for his own guidance,
every minute event that bore upon the science and art of the
Telegraph. It was a grand as well as novel experiment on
which he was entering, and these transient records of impres
sions are intensely interesting :

" 1844 : April 15th, evening, about 4.30 o'clock. — It struck 1, then
2, and soon after, about twelve or fifteen times quite rapid, and
about half an hour after it commenced again, and, at intervals,
struck 1, 3, 5, 1, 1, 1, 1, 3, three times 3; repeated the same after
my striking three times 3, again 3 ; 3 they again answered me
several times without my returning it.

"April 16th. — At 5 minutes past 9 action of magnet com
menced ; thought I received word that the connection was this side
yesterday's work. Afterward many strikings, but no answer to my
question, 'Is all right?' At about 9.25 connection was broken,
and the lever up, so that I could not communicate.

" At 25 minutes of 11, lever in action, but could not understand
signals. Had previously doubled the pairs for quantity, and, upon
connecting the 35 again in a single battery, found action of lever. At
18 minutes to 11, action; again asked c If all is right?' N"o answer.
At 8J minutes to 11 action ceased, lever being up. Went, at 11.15,
to depot for Mr. Cornell's letter. On return found it in action from
Beltsville ; at 12.30 put 49 pairs in action, 30 of them being fresh.
My magnet moved strongly, but no answers from the other end.

4gg LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

"At 22 minutes to 1 o'clock tried 39 pairs— 30 fresh and 9 old.
The magnet moved strongly, but still no answers from Beltsville.

" At 16 minutes to 1 tried the 30 fresh pairs alone ; moved mag
net strongly, but still no answers from Beltsville.

" Tried 20 pairs, moved magnet once, feebly ; added, succes
sively up to 30, and found that 25 would move magnet well.

" 7 minutes to 1. — Still no answers.

" 5 minutes to 1.— Still no answer.

"4 minutes to 1. — Received signals, but not intelligible.

" 3 minutes to 1. — Asked if all was right ; no answer.

" 1 minute to 1. — The same.

" 1 o'clock. — The same. Gave many signals, but no answer re
turned.

" 7 minutes after 1. — The same.

" 10 minutes after 1. — Announced cars of freight- train leaving
for Baltimore.

"16 minutes after 1. — Not disconnected.

" 17 J minutes after 1. — Signals received.

" 25 minutes after 1. — I stopped for the morning.

" From 2 till 20 minutes past, signals were given better, but
difficult to understand.

"April 18£/i. — 30-cup battery in action at 20 minutes to 9 ; quar
ter to 9, lever struck several times, probably from Bladensburg.
Shows good insulation, notwithstanding the rain.

"April 26, 1844. — Attempted two circuits, according to Mr.
Vail's arrangement. Put the batteries in action. My large mag
net did not work well. There were attempts to write from Bla
densburg (which I could not detect by the ear), producing a slight
click at the great magnet, showing that the lever wanted adjusting.
After adjustment, the lever worked well, and I obtained a few mark
ings on the register, but all stopped after this.

" At first, Yail's battery gave a feeble spark, but mine none ;
and in touching with Vail's no effect was produced on my magnet
or register ; soon after, both batteries gave a vivid spark, and both
equally moved the lever ; then, soon after, the batteries were in the
same state as at first.

" At 11.10 the batteries were again in a similar state, both oper
ating my magnet ; 23 in one batterv, and 24 in another — 47 cups in
all.

" At 12 changed the circuit to the distant terminus — 20 miles ;
found it sound. Received signals, but not intelligible, owing

MYSTERIES OF THE WIRES. 489

doubtless to persons there not acquainted with the mode of opera
tion ; Mr. Cornell not there ; battery perhaps too weak. At 24
minutes to 1 added 6 more plates; the magnet worked much
stronger. Experiment showed the integrity of the circuit 20 miles.

"April 29, 1844; Monday. — Day calm and fine. Learned
this morning that a wire had drawn apart at a bad joint near Belts-
ville, which was doubtless the cause of the difficulty on Saturday.
Saturday was a rainy and windy day. The galvanometer showed
deflection of needle two or three degrees with 60 pairs ; a slight
spark was also visible, which may be accounted for by the ends of
the wire being on the ground, and a slight current being returned
through the ground. Mr. Cornell is to repair the wire at 1
o'clock, having the whole circuit closed at the Junction. I have
prepared 80 pairs for trial : 80 operates the magnet powerful^, 65
operates well, 70 better. Kept in action from 12 o'clock ; at 5.30
o'clock battery strong, 67 pairs sufficient to operate well ; 65 oper
ates small magnet quick, but not the large magnet. Near 6 o'clock
Mr. Vail operated from Junction, and announced the cars as at the
junction at 2 minutes to 6 o'clock, and that he was coming in.
Made various experiments to-day with different arrangement of cir
cuits. Crossed tub of water without wires ; water acidulated.

" May 3d. — Went to Junction to see arrangements there, and as
certain the cause of difficulty of conversing yesterday during the rain.

" Learned that, during the thunder and lightning in the night,
the electricity was heard c snapping like a chestnut-fire in the tele
graph-room.' The persons there did not awaken Mr. Vail, and did
not dare to go into the room of the telegraph. Mrs. Sum wait says
she saw the line of wires surrounded with light. The electricity
of the atmosphere may have had something to do with the effects
yesterday, but it is doubtful. The magnet of Mr. Vail at Junc
tion operated when I touched, but mine did not when he touched.
The reason of this is yet involved in mystery. Returned in 10
o'clock train.

" The ground circuit was put in operation with the east wire,
and the result is that the effect is stronger than when the two wires
are used as the circuit. The telegraph has operated finely to-day."

It was a brief work to build a line forty miles long, when
the system of poles was adopted. In expectation of the meeting
of the National Whig Convention, May 1st, to nominate candi
dates for the presidency and vice-presidency, redoubled ener-

490 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

gies were put forth, and by that time the wires were in working
order twenty-two miles from "Washington toward Baltimore.
The day before the convention met, Professor Morse wrote to
Mr. Tail:

" Get every thing ready in the morning for the day, and do not
be out of hearing of your bell. When you learn the name of the
candidate nominated, see if you cannot give it to me, and receive
from me an acknowledgment of its receipt before the cars leave
you. If you can, it will do more to excite the wonder of those
in the cars than the mere announcement that the news is gone to
Washington. When the cars are in sight from Baltimore, which
will be about 10 A. M. and 5 P. M., prepare me for the announcement

by the letter deliberately struck, after the usual beginning

and ending. When they arrive at your station get the name of the

Vice-President of Mr. Evans ; write simply . . . . -. — .

• • • or Mr. Davis — •• • — •• and I will acknowl
edge by • • • • which means ' Very well,' as well as ' Yes.' After
ward you can repeat the name and any other information you may
have received, but the name of the Vice-President is of most impor
tance. There will be hours when it is of more importance to be
attentive at the register than at other times — at 10 A. M. until
12 M., from 1 to 3, and from 5 to 6, or 6J-. At 12 M. disconnect, so
that Mr. Cornell may test the wires to the point where he is at
work, and continue disconnected one hour. Tell Mr. Cornell this.
Do not forget to keep your circuit closed after writing."

And the next day :

" Things went well to-day. Your last writing was good. You
did not correct your error of running your letters together until
some time. Better be deliberate ; we have time to spare, since we
do not spend upon our stock. Get ready to-morrow (Thursday) as
to-day. There is great excitement about the Telegraph, and my
room is thronged ; therefore it is important to have it in action
during the hours named. I may have some of the Cabinet to
morrow. I told. Mr. Brown to go to post-office for you and bring
me the letter if there. He has not brought it, so I fear there is
none. Add the following to your list of phrases .... Get from
passengers in the cars from Baltimore or elsewhere all the news you
can, and transmit. A good way of exciting wonder will he to tell
the passengers to give you some short sentence to send me ; let

NOTES OF PREPARATION. 491

them note time, and call at the Capitol to verify the time I received
it. Before transmitting, notify me with (48). Your message to
day that ' the passengers in the cars gave three cheers for Henry
Clay,' excited the highest wonder in the passenger who gave it to
you to send, when he found it verified at the Capitol.

" When you correct your register again at 1 o'clock, after Mr.
Cornell has tried the wires, notify me at once by the word

c Junction ' •• — — •• •• . I was

bothered some time at noon to-day to know who was writing,
whether you from the Junction, or Mr. Cornell from the extremity,
and many persons were waiting to have you write."

A few days of private practice and experiment followed, the
interest of the public risjng daily as the results were reported.
On the llth of May Professor Morse said in a letter to Mr. Tail :

" Every thing worked well yesterday, but there is one defect in
your writing. Make a longer space between each letter, and a still
longer space between each word. I shall have a great crowd to
day, and wish all things to go off well. Many M. C.'s will be pres
ent, perhaps Mr. Clay ; give me news by the cars. When the cars
come along, try and get a newspaper from Philadelphia or New
York, and give items of intelligence. The arrival of the cars at the
Junction begins to excite here the greatest interest, and both morn
ing and evening T have had my room thronged."

The back of one of these letters is covered with pencil-notes
that indicate the "trials and tribulations" of those anxious
hours : " Wires crossed." " At Junction the electricity of the
atmosphere was observed upon the line and snapping like a
chestnut-fire during the storm last night." " Wires twisted near
Bladensburg." But the experiment was approaching its crisis.
The convention assembled, and Henry Clay was nominated by
acclamation for the presidency. The news was conveyed on
the railroad to the point reached by the Telegraph, and thence
instantly transmitted over the wires to Washington. An hour
afterward passengers arriving at the capital, and supposing that
they had brought the first intelligence, were surprised to find
that the announcement had been made already and that they
were the bearers of old news ! The convention shortly after
ward nominated Theodore Freliiighuysen as Yice-Presiclent,

492 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

and the intelligence was sent to Washington in the same man
ner. The astonishment of the public was great. The fact was
to many minds incredible.

Before the month of May had passed, the junction of the
lines that had been started from each city was effected, and the
communication between Washington and Baltimore was com
plete and perfect.

THE FIKST MESSAGE.

On the 24th day of May, 1844, Professor Morse was prepared
to put to the test the great experiment on which his mind had
been laboring for twelve anxious, weary years. Mr. Yail, his
assistant, was at the Baltimore terminus, in the Mount Clare
depot. Professor Morse had invited his friends to assemble in
the chamber of the U. S. Supreme Court, where he had his in
strument, from which the wires extended to Baltimore. He
had promised his young friend, Miss Ellsworth, that she should
indite the first message over the wires. Her mother suggested
the familiar words of Scripture (Numbers xxiii. 23) : " What
hath God wrought ! " The whole verse from which this mes
sage was taken is in these words: "Surely there is no en
chantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against
Israel : according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of
Israel, What hath God wrought ! "

The words were chosen without consultation with the in
ventor, but were singularly expressive of his own sentiment in
regard to the invention, and his own experience in bringing it to
a successful accomplishment. From the moment of its concep
tion he had been under the serious and sincere impression that
he was guided and controlled by supernatural power in this
great work. Profoundly religious in his convictions, and trained
from earliest childhood to believe in the special superintend
ence of Providence in the minutest affairs of men, he had
acted throughout the whole of his struggles under the firm per
suasion that God was working in him to will and to do His own
pleasure in this thing. In conversation with intimate personal
friends and in private letters to those dear to him, he was free
to acknowledge this dependence, and to declare his confidence
that the final result would be a complete triumph.

WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT? 493

Mrs. Ellsworth had often heard these expressions from the
lips of the great inventor. She knew that he would appreciate
the propriety of ascribing the honor of this wonderful invention
to Him whose lightning shineth out of the east even unto the
west, and whose words have gone out through all the earth. It
was with such reverential emotion, that the words " What hath
God wrought ! " were selected from the pages of Holy Scrip
ture, and accepted by the inventor as the first message to be re
corded on a completed line of telegraph. In the room were
assembled many of the most distinguished officers of the Gov
ernment, and the personal friends of the inventor, with various
emotions of doubt, anxiety, hope, and faith. The calmest per
son in the company was Professor Morse.

Taking his seat by the instrument, he proceeded to manipu
late it. Slowly, steadily, and successfully, he wrote the selected
words, in the Morse telegraphic alphabet, as follows :

D

It was instantaneously received by Mr. Tail in Baltimore,
who was ignorant of the message to be sent. He returned it im
mediately to "Washington ; so that within a single moment of
time, those inspired and inspiring words were carried back and
forth through a circuit of eighty miles.

Again the triumph of the inventor was sublime. His confi
dence had been so unshaken that the surprise of his friends in
the result was not shared by him. He knew what the instru
ment would do, and the fact accomplished was but the confirma
tion to others of what to him was a certainty on the packet-ship
Sully, in 1832. But the result was not the less gratifying and
sufficient ; had his labors ceased at that moment, he would have

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOESE.

cheerfully exclaimed in the words of Simeon, " Lord, now lettest
thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy
salvation."

The congratulations of his friends followed. He received
them with modesty, in perfect harmony with the simplicity of
his character. Neither then, nor at any subsequent period of
his life, did his language or manner indicate exultation. He
believed himself an instrument employed by Heaven to achieve
a great result, and, having accomplished it, he claimed simply to
be the original and only instrument by which that result had
been reached. With the same steadiness of purpose, tenacity,
and perseverance, with which he had pursued the idea by which
he was inspired in 1832, he adhered to his claim to the paternity
of that idea, and to the merit of bringing it to a successful issue.
Denied, he asserted it ; assailed, he defended it. Through long
years of controversy, discussion, and litigation, he maintained
his right. Equable alike in success and discouragement, calm in
the midst of victories, and undismayed by the number, the vio
lence, and the power of those who sought to deprive him of the
honor and the reward of his work, he manfully maintained his
ground until, by the verdict of the highest courts of his coun
try, and of academies of science, and the practical adoption and
indorsement of his system by his own and foreign nations, those
wires which were now speaking only forty miles from Wash
ington to Baltimore, were stretched over continents and under
oceans, making a net-work to encompass and unite, in instanta
neous intercourse for business and enjoyment, all parts of the
civilized world.

Professor Morse said of the first dispatch, " It baptized the
American Telegraph with the name of its author." The author,
as he believed, was God. Twenty-two years afterward, Bishop
Stevens, of Pennsylvania, having requested Professor Morse to
write his recollections of the birth of the Telegraph, received
the following narrative :

"PARIS, November, 1866.

" I cheerfully comply with the request you made last evening,
to give you in writing the incidents I related to you connected with
the first telegram transmitted by the Electro-Magnetic Recording
Telegraph, the first ever practically in public use, on the first line
constructed in the United States, or indeed in the world.

LETTER TO BISHOP STEVEXS. 495

" I had spent at Washington two entire sessions of Congress,
one in 1837-'38, the other in 1842-'43, in the endeavor so far to in
terest the Government in the novel Telegraph as to furnish me with
the means to construct a line of sufficient length to test its practica
bility and utility.

" The last days of the last session of that Congress were about
to close. A bill appropriating thirty thousand dollars for my pur
pose had passed the House, and was before the Senate for concur
rence, waiting its turn on the calendar. On the last day of the
session (3d of March, 1843), I had spent the whole day and part of
the evening in the Senate-chamber, anxiously watching the prog
ress of the passing of the various bills, of which there were, in the
morning of that day, over one hundred and forty to be acted upon,
before the one in which I was interested would be reached ; and a
resolution had a few days before been passed, to proceed with the
bills en -the calendar in their regular order, forbidding any bill to
be taken up out of its regular place. As evening approached, there
seemed to be but little chance that the Telegraph Bill would be
reached before the adjournment, and consequently I had the pros
pect of the delay of another year, with the loss of time, and all my
means already expended. In tny anxiety, I consulted with two of
my senatorial friends — Senator Huntington, of Connecticut, and
Senator Wright, of New York — asking their opinion of the proba
bility of reaching the bill before the close of the session. Their an
swers were discouraging, a"hd their advice was to prepare myself for
disappointment. In this state of mind I retired to my chamber, and
made all my arrangements for leaving Washington the next day.
Painful as was this prospect of renewed disappointment, you, my
dear sir, will understand me when I say that, knowing from experi
ence whence my help must come in any difficulty, I soon disposed
of my cares, and slept as quietly as a child.

" In the morning, as I had just gone into the breakfast-room, the
servant called me out, announcing that a young lady was in the
parlor, wishing to speak with me. I was at once greeted with the
smiling face of my young friend, the daughter of my old and valued
friend and classmate, the Hon. H. L. Ellsworth, the Commissioner
of Patents. On expressing my surprise at so early a call, she said,
'I have come to congratulate you.' 'Indeed, for what?' 'On
the passage of your bill.' * Oh, no, my young friend, you are mis
taken ; I was in the Senate-chamber till after the lamps were lighted,
and mv senatorial friends assured me there was no chance for me.'

496

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

1 But,' she replied, ' it is you that are mistaken. Father was there
at the adjournment, at midnight, and saw the President put his
name to your bill ; and I asked father if I might come and tell you,
and he gave me leave. Am I the first to tell you ? ' The news
was so unexpected that fcr some moments I could not speak. At
length I replied : ' Yes, Annie, you are the first to inform me ; and
now I am going to make you a promise : the first dispatch on the
completed line from Washington to Baltimore shall be yours.'
' Well,' said she, ' I shall hold you to your promise.'

" In about a year from that time, the line from Washington to
Baltimore was completed. I was in Baltimore when the wires were
brought into the office, and attached to the instrument. I proceeded
to Washington, leaving word that no dispatch should be sent
through the line until I had sent one from Washington. On my
arrival there, I sent a note to Miss Ellsworth, announcing to her
that every thing was ready, and I was prepared to fulfill my prom
ise of sending the first dispatch over the wires, which she was to in
dite. The answer was immediately returned. The dispatch was,
* What hath God wrought ! ' It was sent to Baltimore, and re
peated to Washington, and the strip of paper upon which the tele
graphic characters are printed, was claimed by Governor Seymour,
of Hartford, Connecticut, then a member of the House, on the
ground that Miss Ellsworth was a native of Hartford. It was de
livered to him by Miss Ellsworth, and is now preserved in the
archives of the Hartford Museum, or Athenaeum.

" I need only add that no words could have been selected more
expressive of the disposition of my own mind at that time, to
ascribe all the honor to Him to whom it truly belongs.

" With sincere respect, your most obedient servant,
« To the Rt. Rev. Bishop STEVENS." " SAMUEL F. B. MoESE.

When Mr. Yail, at Baltimore, had received and returned the
first dispatch, "What hath God wrought !" a familiar conver
sation followed, which proved to the company that the dis
patches had not been agreed upon previously by the operators.
Professor Morse said, " Stop a few minutes." Mr. Yail replied,
"Yes."

" Have you any news ? " " No." " Mr. Seaton's respects to
you." " My respects to him." " What is your time ? " " Mne
o'clock, twenty-eight minutes." " What weather have you ? "
" Cloudy."

DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION. 497

" Separate your words more." " Oil your clock-work."
" Buchanan stock said to be rising." " I have a great crowd at
my window." " Yan Buren cannon in front, with a fox-tail on
it."

Two days afterward, May 26th, the National Democratic
Convention for the nomination of candidates assembled in Bal
timore. Mr. Morse was at the terminus of the line in "Wash
ington. Mr. Alfred Yail, his assistant, was at the terminus in
Baltimore. The most anxious and careful correspondence had
passed between them by mail and messenger, as well as by the
wires, that every thing might be in perfect order for the suc
cess of the first great experiment of the public use of the in
vention. In private it had been worked to their complete satis
faction. They had not a doubt of its ability to do all they had
ever claimed for it ; but they well knew that so much depended
upon the success of its first appearance in public, it was of the
highest importance that no failure should now occur.

The convention had a long and exciting struggle over the
nomination of a candidate for the presidency. A rule was
adopted, requiring a majority of two-thirds to make a nomina
tion. Mr. Yan Buren, failing to receive this number, although
he was the first choice of a majority of the convention, was
dropped, and James K. Polk, of Tennessee, was finally nomi
nated with great unanimity. The convention, then, having
rejected Mr. Yan Buren for the presidency, nominated his
friend Silas Wright, of New York, for the vice-presidency.
Mr. Wright was at that time in the Senate of the United States,
and in Washington. The fact of his nomination was imme
diately communicated by Mr. Yail to Mr. Morse, through the
Telegraph, and by Mr. Morse to Mr. Wright. In a few mo
ments the convention was astonished by receiving a message
from Mr. Wright, that he respectfully declined the nomination.
The president of that body read to them the dispatch, but so
incredulous were the members as to the authority of the evidence
before them, many utterly disbelieving it to be possible that
intelligence could have gone to Washington and an answer re
turned in the few minutes that had elapsed since the nomination
was made, that the convention adjourned over to the following
day, to await the report of a committee sent to Washington to get
32

493 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

reliable information upon the subject. The committee returned
in the morning, and their report confirmed the correctness and
capacity of the Telegraph, and at once gave it such an adver
tisement and certificate as its inventor had desired.

Then followed a scene of scientific and moral sublimity.
The convention having reassembled in the morning, and the
refusal of Mr. Wright to accept their nomination having been
communicated, a conference with him was held, by his friends,
through the medium of the wires. In Washington Mr. Wright
and Mr. Morse were closeted with the instrument ; at Baltimore
the committee of conference surrounded Mr. Yail. and the in
strument. Spectators and auditors were excluded. The com
mittee communicated to Mr. Wright their reasons for urging
his acceptance of the nomination. In a moment he received
their communication in writing and as quickly returned to them
his answer. Again and again these confidential messages passed,
and the result was finally announced to the convention that
Mr. Wright was inflexible. Mr. Dallas then received the nomi
nation and accepted it. The ticket thus nominated was success
ful at the election in November of that year.

The original slips of paper, on which some of the messages
were written at the Baltimore Convention, are still preserved,
and have an interest of their own :

"Governor Morton, of Massachusetts, is now addressing the
convention in favor of taking the question now on the two-thirds
rule. He is in favor of a majority as the rule. Governor Morton
closed at five minutes to ten.

" Mr. Walker is now (fifteen minutes before eleven) speaking in
favor of the two-thirds rule, in answer to Benjamin F. Butler, at
fifteen minutes past ten.

" Senator Walker closed his last speech thirty minutes past ten.

" Robert Rantoul is addressing the convention in favor of the
two-thirds rule.

" Lieutenant-Governor Dickinson, of New Jersey, is speaking in
favor of the majority rule.

" Some firm Democrats here think Henry Dodge, of Wisconsin,
is the man to unite upon. B. B. FKENCH."

" State Folk's vote at eighth ballot.

" Where will the convention meet on Monday ?

McDUFFIE AND HOLMES. 499

"Mr. Morehead's respects, in return, to Mr. Atwill, with his
thanks for the box of cigars.

" As a rumor is prevalent here this morning that Mr. Eugene
Boyle (son of Mr. John Boyle, of this place) was shot at Baltimore,
last evening, Professor Morse will confer a great favor upon the
family by making inquiry by means of his ' Electro-Magnetic Tele
graph ' if such is the fact."

Mr. Holmes, member of Congress from South Carolina, had
been very active in promoting the passage of the bill for the ap
propriation ; and his brother, a venerable citizen of Charleston,
relates the following incident on the opening of the Telegraph :

"My brother, Isaac Edward Holmes, warmly supported Mr.
Morse's application to Congress for an appropriation which enabled
him to erect the first telegraph-wires between Washington and
Baltimore. These first-erected wires were operated on by Morse in
person. I stood with him in his room under the Senate-chamber
at Washington, saw him operate by dipping into a phial of quick
silver the end of one wire from the battery in the corner of the
room, while the same phial held, immersed in the quicksilver, the
end of the other wire from the same battery. A reel held, wound
up, a paper ribbon which, as it was unwound, passed over a roller
having three grooves corresponding to three prongs of a dull-pointed
fork which wjas passed upon the paper, and, according to the time,
made dots or lines, which was the alphabet invented by Morse. Morse
dismissed us (the spectators) that, as he said, he might assist Lieu
tenant afterward Commodore Wilkes in determining by the Tele
graph the relative longitude in time of Washington and Baltimore.
I attempted after the exhibition to explain to one of the Senators
of South Carolina, McDuffie, the mode of operation. I failed, for,
though he listened, I am sure he did not heed, since, at the conclu
sion, he exclaimed —

" ' I don't understand one word you've said ! '

" Which produced an explosive laugh from our other Senator,
Huger, who was quietly smoking his cig.ar, expecting just such a
result."

Mr. Yail kept a diary in those early days of the Telegraph,
and we have his reminiscences :

u The Telegraph first put in operation, between Washington and
Baltimore, in the spring of 1844, was shown, without charge, until

500 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

April 1 1845. Congress, during the session of 1844-'45, made an
appropriation of eight thousand dollars to keep it in operation dur
ing the year, placing it, at the same time, under the supervision of
the Postmaster-General. He, at the close of the session, ordered a
tariff of charges of one cent for every four characters made by or
through the telegraph, appointing also the operators of the line,
Mr. Vail for the Washington station, and Mr. H, J. Rogers for
Baltimore. This new order of things commenced on April 1, 1845,
and the object was to test the profitableness of the enterprise.

" Mr. Polk had just been inaugurated, and, as is always the case
on the advent of a new Administration, the city was filled with per
sons seeking for office. A gentleman of Virginia, who stated that
to be his errand to the city, came to the office on the 1st day of
April, and desired to see its operation. The oath of office being
fresh in the mind of the operator, and he being determined to ful
fill it to the very letter, the gentleman was told of the rates of
charges, and that he would see its operation by sending his name
to Baltimore, and having it sent back, at the rate of four letters or
figures for a cent, or he might ask Baltimore regarding the weather,
etc. This he refused to do, and coaxed, argued, and threatened.
He said there could be no harm in showing him its operation, as
that was all he wanted. He was told of the oath just taken by the
incumbent, and of his intention to observe it faithfully ; and that, if
it was shown to him by the passage of a communication gratui
tously, it would be in violation of his oath of office. He stated that
he had no change. In reply he was told that, if he would call upon
the Postmaster-General, and obtain his consent that the operation
should be shown him gratis, the operator would cheerfully comply
to almost any extent. He stated, in reply, that he knew the Post1-
master-General, and had considerable influence with some of the
officers of the Government, and that he, the operator, had better
show it to him at once, intimating that he might be subjected to
some peril by refusing. He was told that no regard would be paid
to the extent of his influence, etc., be it great or little ; that he did
not think he was at liberty to use the property of the Government
for individual benefit when under oath to exact pay, and cited the
rules of the post-office in relation to the carriage of letters ; but
that he was willing to do as directed by the Postmaster-General
(Hon. Cave Johnson). The discussion lasted almost an hour, when
the gentleman left the office in no pleasant mood.

" This was the patronage received by the Washington office on

AMUSING INCIDENT. 501

the 1st, 2d, and 3d of April. On the 4th the same gentleman
' turned up ' again, and repeated some of his former arguments.
He was asked if he had seen the Postmaster-General, and obtained
his consent to his request ; to which he replied he had not. After
considerable discussion, which was rather amusing than vexatious,
he said that he had nothing less than a twenty-dollar bill, and one
cent, all of which he pulled out of his breeches-pocket. He was
told that he could have a cent's worth of telegraphing, if that
would answer, to which he agreed. After his many manoeuvres,
and his long agony, the gentleman was finally gratified in the fol
lowing manner : Washington asked Baltimore, ' 4,' which means, in
the list of signals, ' What time is it f ' Baltimore replied ' 1,'
which meant ' one o'clock? The amount of the operation was one
character each way, making two in all, which, at the rate of four
for a cent, would amount to half a cent exactly. He laid down his
cent, but was told that half a cent would suffice, if he could pro
duce the change. This he declined to do, and gave the whole cent,
after which, being satisfied, he left the office.

" Such was the income of the Washington office for the first
four days of April, 1845. On the 5th, twelve and a half cents
were received. The 6th was the Sabbath. On the 7th, the re
ceipts ran up to sixty cents ; on the 8th, to one dollar and thirty-
two cents ; on the 9th, to one dollar and four cents. It is worthy
of remark," concludes Mr. Vail, " that more business was done by the
merchants after the tariff was laid than when the service was gratui
tous."

The most amusing incidents are related in the early history
of this new and unintelligible mode of communication. Many
of the published incidents are undoubtedly fictitious, inven
tions of those who are fond of extracting amusement from the
gravest events. Among those preserved by Professor Morse him
self, and therefore worthy of being credited, is the following :

A pretty little girl tripped into the Washington City termina
tion, and, after a great deal of hesitation and blushing, asked how
long it would "take to send to Baltimore?" The interesting ap
pearance of the little questioner attracted Mr. . Morse's attention,
and he very blandly replied, " One second."

" Oh, how delightful, how delightful ! " ejaculated the little
beauty, her eyes glistening with delight. " One second, only —
here, send this even quicker ', if you can." And Mr. Morse found in

502 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

his hand* a neatly-folded, gilt-edged note, the very perfume and
shape of which told a volume of love.

" I cannot send this note," said Mr. Morse, with some feeling ;
" it is impossible."

" Oh, do, do ! " implored the distracted girl ; " William and I
Jiave had a quarrel, and I shall die if he don't know that I forgive
him in a second — I know I shall."

Mr. Morse still objected to sending the note, when the fair one,
brightening up, asked, " You will then send me on, won't you ? "

" Perhaps," said one of the clerks, " it would take your breath
away to travel forty miles in a second ! "

" Oh, no, it won't — no, it won't, if it carries' me to William !
The cars in the morning go so slow I can't wait for them."

Mr. Morse now comprehended the mistake which the petitioner
was laboring under, and attempted to explain the process of con
veying important information along the wires. The letter-writer
listened a few moments impatiently, and then rolled her burning
epistle into a ball, in the excitement under which she labored, and
thrust it into her bosom.

" It's too slow," she finally exclaimed, " it's too slow, and my
heart will break before William knows I forgive him ; and you are a
cruel man, Mr. Morse," said the fair creature, the tears coming into
her eyes, " that you won't let me travel by the telegraph to see
William." And full of emotion she left the office, illustrating the
truth of the poet's wish —

" Annihilate but space and time,
And make two lovers happy."

Many of the letters of Professor Morse to Mr. Tail during
these few weeks before and after opening the first line, are the
reflection of the inner life and history of the invention as it was
approaching its introduction to the world :

" May 15, 1844.

" Every thing operated finely last evening, and this too without
additional cups. We will try this morning, after the train has
passed you for Washington, the number of cups necessary. Yes
terday there were 80, and a less number I think will answer. When
I am ready, I will tell you as I did a few days ago. I will first say,
1 Try 70,' - - then I will go into the battery-
room and change to 70— return and write ' 70 ' —
then of 65 ; * try 65 ' — and so on, waiting

INSTRUCTIONS TO MR. TAIL. 503

between each time to get your answer. If I do not get it, I will go
and change to a higher number, and give you that number. East
and Ground is the present circuit. I want to try the others, but
we must understand, if a change does not operate in five minutes after
we have made it, put back the wires to East and Ground again. I
will give you to-day the doings in the Capitol occasionally, and I
wish you to be particular in writing down in your note-book the
"time . you receive each piece of news, with the news, as this will
verify the fact to many minds. We will set watches by Capitol
time to-day."

" May 25, 1844.

" Inclosed are some abbreviations. You had better put upon
your door a notice to this effect : ' In order to report the principal
events of the conventions, it will be absolutely necessary to keep the
doors closed except to assistants and messengers.' Mr. Houghton,
of Detroit, will call on you, and you can arrange with him and Mr.
Cornell the best mode of getting from the conventions such facts as
will be interesting here. If necessary, employ two or three persons
as messengers and door-keeper. Do not experiment for persons,
or explain, until after the conventions have adjourned, but request
those who desire to see the operation, to wait till afterward. Con
dense your information, but not so as to be obscure. Select the
most important facts, if you are crowded with matter, and leave the
rest to be transmitted at leisure. Prepare to be pretty busy, and,
if possible, take the time of adjournment for dinner-time. Write
your communication first on paper, in the abbreviated form, thus :
<T. com. sess. 2 K. P. Conv. Gov.— 250 mem. Walker, Sen. Mo.
|d. maj. — A. N.' If any confusion arises from using abbrevia
tions, use the more lengthened form. I will apprise you of this,
by writing ' NO abbrev.J and if I wish you to try again, I will
write ' Abbrev.' "

" May 28th. — Things went off well, on the whole, yesterday.
You confound your ms, ts, and Is, and do not separate your words.
Sometimes your dots were not made. It is not the fault of local
battery here, for at other times it worked perfectly well, but for
want, I think, of perfect contact in touching at your end. No time
to add. Be particular to-day."

" May 29£/i. — Every thing worked finely yesterday. You have
little conception of the sensation produced by telegraphic dis
patches. The wonders of the Telegraph, since it is discovered it
is no humbug, are in everybody's mouth. Your ms, ts, and Is, were

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. HOUSE.

better yesterday, but still might be improved by attention to pro
portionate length. Separate your words a little more. Strike your
dots firmer, and do not separate the two dots of the 0 so far apart.
Condense your language more, leave out ' the ' whenever you can,
and when h follows t, separate them so that they shall not be 8.
The beginning of a long common word, \vill generally be sufficient
— if not, I can easily ask you to repeat the whole, o, for example.
Butler made communication in favor of majority rule. — ' Butler '
made com- in fav- of maj.-' ' rule] or similar words, are unneces
sary to repeat, when the subject has just been considered."

The Telegraph was now a reality. Its completion was hailed
with enthusiasm. The newspapers of the day announced the
annihilation of time and space in the intercourse of men. The
name of the inventor was lauded to the skies. Resolutions of
thanks and applause were -adopted by popular assemblies. Lan
guage was found too feeble to express the wonder and joy of
the people.

It was a favorite idea with Professor Morse, from the incep
tion of his enterprise, that the Telegraph shoul(J belong to the
General Government. In pursuance of this intention, on the
same day when he communicated to the Secretary of the Treas
ury the completion of the work between Baltimore and Wash
ington, lie sent a communication to Congress, making a formal
overture of the Telegraph to the Government.

Professor Morse to Hon. Me Clintock Young.

"WASHINGTON, June 3, 1844.

" SIB : I have the honor to report that the experimental essay
authorized by the act of Congress on March 3, 1843, appropriating
thirty thousand dollars for ' testing ' my ' system of Electro-Mag
netic Telegraphs, and of such length, and between such points, as
shall test its practicability and utility] has been made between
Washington and Baltimore — a distance of forty miles — connecting
the Capitol, in the former city, with the railroad depot in Pratt
Street, in the latter city.

" On the first point proposed to be settled by the experiment, to
wit, itB practicability , it is scarcely necessary to say (since the pub
lic demonstration which has been given of its efficacy, for some
days past, during the session of the different conventions in the city
of Baltimore), that it is fully proved.

BENEFITS ALREADY KNOWN. 505

" Items of intelligence of all kinds have been transmitted back
and forth, from the simple sending of names, to the more length
ened details of the proceedings of Congress and the conventions.
One fact will, perhaps, be sufficient to illustrate the efficiency and
speed with which intelligence can be communicated by the tele
graph.

" In the proceedings of the Democratic Convention at Baltimore
for the nomination of a candidate for President of the United States
at the next election, the result of the votes, in the nomination of
the Hon. J. K. Polk, was conveyed from the convention to the tele
graphic terminus in Baltimore, transmitted to Washington, an
nounced to the hundreds assembled in front of the terminus at the
Capitol, and to both Houses of Congress ; the reception of the news
at Washington was then transmitted to Baltimore, sent to the con
vention and circulated among its members — all before the nomina
tion of the successful candidate was officially announced by the
presiding officer of the convention.

" In regard to the utility of the Telegraph, time alone can de
termine and develop the whole capacity for good of so perfect a
system. In the few days of its infancy, it has already casually
shown its usefulness in the relief, in various ways, of the anxieties
of thousands ; and, when such a sure means of relief is available to
the public at large, the amount of its usefulness becomes incalcu
lable. An instance or two will best illustrate this quality of the
telegraph :

" A family in Washington was thrown into great distress by a
rumor that one of its members had met with a violent death in Bal
timore the evening before. Several hours must have elapsed ere
their state of suspense could be relieved by the ordinary means of
conveyance. A note was dispatched to the telegraph-rooms at the
Capitol, requesting to have inquiry made at Baltimore. The mes
senger had occasion to wait but ten minutes, when the proper
inquiry was made at Baltimore, and the answer returned that the
rumor was without foundation. Thus was a worthy family relieved
immediately from a state of distressing suspense.

" An inquiry from a person in Baltimore holding the check of a
gentleman in Washington, upon the Bank of Washington, was sent
by telegraph, to ascertain if the gentleman in question had funds
in that bank. A messenger was instantly dispatched from the
Capitol, who returned in a few minutes with an affirmative answer
which was returned to Baltimore instantly ; thus establishing a con-

506

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

fidence in a money arrangement which might have affected unfa
vorably (for many hours at least) the business transactions of a man
in good credit.

" Other cases might be given ; but these are deemed sufficient
to illustrate the point of utility, and to suggest to those who will
reflect upon them, thousands of cases in the public business, in
commercial operations, and in private and social transactions, which
establish beyond a doubt the immense advantages of such a speedy
mode of conveying intelligence.

" In the construction of this first line of conductors, it was neces
sary that experiments should be made to ascertain the best mode
of establishing them. The plan I first suggested in my letter to the
Secretary of the Treasury in 1837 (see House Report, No. 6, April
6, 1838), of placing my conductors upon posts thirty feet high, and
some three hundred feet apart, is, after experiment, proved to be
the most eligible. The objection, so strongly urged in the outset,
that, by being exposed aboveground, the conductors were in dan
ger from evil-disposed persons, had such weight with me, in the ab
sence of experience on the subject, as early to turn my whole atten
tion to the practicability of placing my conductors in tubes beneath
the earth, as the best means of safety. The adoption of the latter
mode, for some thirteen miles in England, by the projectors of the
English Telegraph, confirmed me- in the belief that this would be
best. I was thus led to contract for lead pipe sufficient to contain
my conductors through the whole route. Experience, however, has
shown that this mode is attended with disadvantages far outweigh
ing any advantages from its fancied security beneath the ground.
If apparently more secure, an injury once sustained is much more
difficult of access, and of repair ; while upon posts, if injury is sus
tained, it is at once seen, and can be repaired, ordinarily almost
without cost. But the great advantage of the mode on posts
over that beneath the ground is the cheapness of its construction.
This will be manifest from the following comparative estimate of
the two modes in England and in America :

" Cost of English Telegraph.— In pipe, £287 6s., or $1,275 per
mile. On posts, £149 5s., or $662 per mile.

" Cost of American Telegraph, as estimated in House Report,
No. 17, Twenty-seventh Congress, Third Session. — In pipe, $583
per mile. On posts, from $350 to $400 per mile.

"These comparisons also show how much less is the cost of
the American Telegraph, even at the highest estimate.

OFFER TO GOVERNMENT. 507

" But these estimates of the cost of construction largely exceed
the actual cost, under the improved modes recently suggested by
experiment, and now adopted ; and the cost of the line between
Baltimore and Washington, already constructed, involves numerous
expenditures of an experimental character, which will not be inci
dent to an extension of the line onward to New York, if that shall
be deemed desirable.

" Of the appropriation made, there will remain in the Treasury,
after the settlement of outstanding accounts, about $3,500, which
may be needed for contingent liabilities, and for sustaining the line
already constructed, until provision by law shall be made for such
an organization of a telegraphic department or bureau as shall en
able the Telegraph at least to % support itself, if not to become a
profitable source of revenue to the Government.

" I will conclude by saying that I feel grateful for the generous
confidence which Congress has thus far extended toward me and
my enterprise ; and I will cheerfully afford any further and more
detailed information on the subject of the Telegraph, when desired,
and will be prepared to make and execute any desirable arrange
ments for the extension of it that Congress shall require.

" With great respect, your obedient servant,

" SAMUEL F. B. MORSE,

" Superintendent of Electro-Magnetic Telegraph.
"To the Hon. MCCLINTOCK YOUNG, Secretary of the Treasury, ad interim ."

Accompanying the report, Professor Morse addressed the
following memorial :

" WASHINGTON, June 3, 1844.
" To the Congress of the United States.

" The undersigned, for himself and coproprietors of Morse's Elec
tro-Magnetic Telegraph, represents that the report of the Superin
tendent of the Telegraph from Washington City to Baltimore has
been made of its completion to the Secretary of the Treasury ; and
the proprietors now ask the further action of Congress upon the
subject. That report will furnish full information of the proceed
ings that have been had, under and by virtue of the former appro
priation made for the purpose of testing the feasibility of the Tele
graph, and of the present satisfactory and successful operation of it.

" The proprietors respectfully suggest that it is an engine of
power, for good or for evil, which all opinions seem to concur in
desiring to have subject to the control of the Government, rather
than have it in the hands of private individuals and associations ;

508 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

and, to this end, the proprietors respectfully submit their willing
ness to transfer the exclusive use and control of it from Washing-
ington City to the city of New York to the United States, together
with such improvements as shall be made by the proprietors, or
either of them, if Congress shall proceed to cause its construction,
and upon either of the following terms :

" 1. By Congress paying the proprietors such remuneration for
it as may be justly due to its value and importance, and the years
of anxious toil and expense it has cost to bring it to its present
state of perfection.

" And in case of this arrangement, the Government will proceed
to construct it at their own expense, and under their own direction,
without imposing any care or responsibility of it on the proprie
tors; or —

" 2. The proprietors will contract with the Government to con
struct it, complete for use as soon as may be done, from Baltimore
to some point in, or opposite to (as may be found most practicable),
the city of New York, including a sufficient number of wires, to
establish distinct communications to and from Washington and
each of the following places, viz. : Baltimore in Maryland, Wilming
ton in Delaware, Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, Trenton in New
Jersey, and New York City, or a point most practicable opposite
thereto, including a supply of all necessary instruments to put the
same in complete operation, delivering it into the charge of the
Government as fast as each successive section of ten miles shall be
completed, and relinquish to the Government the exclusive right
and property in the use of the same, with the improvements afore
said, for the sum of dollars, and the unexpended
balance of the former appropriation, subject to the payment of all
unliquidated claims outstanding against such balance ; said sums
•shall be in full compensation for all materials, labor, and every
expense of construction, up to the delivery of every section to the
Government ready for use as aforesaid.

" The work and the materials to be upon the plan, and in all
respects equal to the line, constructed between Washington and
Baltimore City, and the points of communications to be in said
several cities and towns mentioned at such places as the Govern
ment, by its proper officer, shall provide and determine, the terms
of payment to be ten per cent, at the commencement of the work,
or signing of the contract, and a pro-rata sum for every successive
ten miles when completed.

, DETERMINING THE LONGITUDE. 509

" The undersigned will add that he will take pleasure in afford
ing any further information than is contained in the two former
reports made on the subject.

"SAMUEL F. B. MOKSE,
"Superintendent of Electro-Magnetic Telegraph"

The overture was not accepted, as it will soon appear.

Professor Morse suggested to Arago, in 1839, that the
Electro-Magnetic Telegraph would be the means of determining
the difference of longitude between places with an accuracy
hitherto unattained. By the following letter from Captain
Charles Wilkes to Professor Morse, it will be perceived that the
first experiment of the kind resulted in the fulfillment of the
Professor's prediction :

" WASHINGTON, June 13, 1844.

" MY DEAK SIK : The interesting experiments for obtaining the
difference of longitude through your Magnetic Telegraph were
finished yesterday, and have proved very satisfactory. They re
sulted in placing the Battle Monument Square, Baltimore, 1' 34".S68
east of the Capitol.

" The time of the two places was carefully obtained by transit
observations. Lieutenants Carr and Eld assisted me in these ob
servations. The latter was engaged in those at Baltimore. The
comparisons were made through chronometers, and without any
difficulty. They were had in three days, and their accuracy proved
in the intervals marked and recorded at both places. I have
adopted the results of the last day's observations and comparisons,
from the elapsed time having been less.

"The difference from former results found in the American
Almanac is .732 of a second. After these experiments T am well
satisfied that your Telegraph offers the means for determining me
ridian distances more accurately than was before within the power
of instruments and observers.

" Accept my thanks and those of Lieutenant Eld for yourself
and Mr. Vail, for your kindness and attention in affording us the
facilities to obtain these results.

" With great respect and esteem, your friend,

"CHARLES WILKES.

" Professor S. F. B. MORSE, Capitol, Washington."

CHAPTEK XII.
1845.

CONGEESS EEFUSES FUETHEE APPEOPEIATIONS — LETTEE OF PEOFESSOE MOESE

TO HIS DAUGHTEE HON. AMOS KENDALL ENGAGED AS AGENT — FOBMATION

OF THE MAGNETIC TELEGEAPH COMPANY — LETTEES TO ME. VAIL — ME.

TAIL'S EEPLTES PEOFESSOE MOESE GOES ABEOAD — IN LONDON — GENEEAL

COMMEECIAL TELEGEAPH COMPANY — HON. LOUIS MCLANE PEOFESSOB

MOESE IN HAMBTJEG — EETUENS TO LONDON — EXHIBITIONS OF THE TELE
GEAPH IN HAMBUEG, ST. PETEESBUEG, BEELIN, AND VIENNA — ME. FLEISCH-

MANN'S ACCOUNT OF ITS EECEPTION — PEOFESSOE MOESE IN PAEIS — AEAGO
— EXHIBITION BEFOEE CHAMBEE OF DEPUTIES — EETUEN TO AMEEICA.

THE Telegraph, no longer an experiment, was an accom
plished fact. Speaking for itself, it required no cham
pions on the floor of Congress, or in the public press. The
extension of the line from Baltimore to Philadelphia and New
York, and to all the cities of the land, was only a work of time.
But the aid of Congress was sought in vain. An appropriation
of $8,000 was made to support the line between the capital and
Baltimore, while in its infancy, but further than that the Gov
ernment declined to go. The sum named as the price for which
the Morse Company would sell the Telegraph to the Govern
ment, was $100,000. The subject was discussed in the report,
of Hon. Cave Johnson, the Postmaster-General, under President
Polk. He was a member of Congress when the bill was before
the House appropriating $30,000 for the experimental line, and
was one of those who ridiculed the. whole subject as unworthy
the notice of sensible men ! As Postmaster-General he said in
his report, after the experiment had succeeded to the admiration
of mankind : « That the operation of the Telegraph between

VALUE OF THE TELEGRAPH. 5H

Washington and Baltimore had not satisfied him that, under any
rate of postage that could be adopted, its revenues could be
made equal to its expenditures."

Such an opinion, with the evidence then in the possession of
the Department, would appear to be the limit of official blind
ness. But it was undoubtedly fortunate for the inventor, and
for the country, that the development of the Telegraph was left
to private enterprise. A quarter of a century after the Govern
ment had declined to take the Telegraph at the price of $100,000,
a project was started to establish lines of Telegraph to be used
by the Government as part of the mail postal system, or to take
possession of the lines already established. And in 18Y3 the
Postmaster-General, Mr. Cresswell, stated in his report that the
entire cost of all the lines in the country, including patents, was
less than $10,000,000, and that the cost of a new system, equal
in extent to the present, would be $11,800,000. At the time
this estimate was made, the property of the existing Telegraph
companies was worth in the market, $50,000,000.

In a letter to his daughter, who had removed with her hus
band to Porto Eico, in the West Indies, Professor Morse wrote,
February 8, 1845 :

" The Telegraph operates to the perfect satisfaction of the pub
lic, as you perhaps see by the laudatory notices of the papers in all
parts of the country. I am now in a state of unpleasant suspense,
waiting the passage of the ' bill for the extension of the Telegraph
to New York.' I am in hopes they will take it up and pass it next
week; if they should not, I shall at once enter into arrangements
with private companies to take it and extend it. I do long for the
time, if it shall be permitted, to have you with your husband, and
little Charles, around me ; I feel my loneliness more and more keen
ly every day. Fame and money are, in themselves, a poor substi
tute for domestic happiness ; as means to that end, I value them.
Yesterday was the sad anniversary (the twentieth) of your dear
mother's death, and I spent the most of it in thinking of her. How
I should like to look in upon you ! You must describe your situa
tion, so that I can form an idea of what you are doing daily. I
wish you were not so far off; I get discouraged almost in writing
to you, it seems so like an age before I can get an answer, and so
uncertain as to the fate of my letters.

512 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" I dine on Tuesday with the Russian Minister, Mr. Bodisco ;
both the Russian and French Governments are taking an interest
in Electric Telegraphs, and I may have to visit both these countries.
It is one of the possible things that we may meet in Europe.

" Thursday, February 12. — I dined at the Russian ambassador's
Tuesday. It was the most gorgeous dinner-party I ever attended
in any country. Thirty-six sat down to table ; there were eleven
Senators (nearly half the Senate). I will give you their names,
Evans, Woodbury, Webster, Huntirigton, Buchanan, Bayard, Ar
cher, Huger, Berrien, Crittenden, Benton, and Barrow ; Mr. Webster
is Senator-elect ; then there were General Scott, Captain Shubrick,
Captain Morris, Seaton, Mayor of Washington, Judge McLane, of
the Supreme Court, Dickens, Secretary of the Senate, and many
members of the House. The table, some twenty or twenty-five feet
long, was decorated with immense gilt vases of flowers, on a splen
did plateau of richly-chased gilt ornaments, and candelabra with
about a hundred and fifty lights. We were usherecl into the house
through eight liveried servants, who afterward waited on us at
table.

" I go to-morrow evening to Mr. Wickliffe's, Postmaster-Gen
eral, and probably, on Wednesday evening next, to the President's.
The new President, Polk, arrived this evening amid the roar of
cannon ; he will be inaugurated on the 4th of March, and I presume
I shall be here. I am most anxiously waiting the action of Con
gress on the Telegraph ; it is exceedingly tantalizing to suffer so
much loss of precious time that cannot be recalled.

" Your affectionate father, SAMUEL F. B. MOESE."

Professor Morse had long known that his pecuniary interests
required him to commit them to the hands of skillful, able, and
honest men of business. While the invention was in progress,
his mind was far more engrossed with it than with its future
possible advantage to himself, though lie was never insensible to
the charms of fame and fortune. But no one could invent for
him. That labor lie bore in solitude and unaided, save by the
divine spirit, which lie believed to be continually at work with
him to produce the result he sought. But now that the Tele
graph was in operation, and his own agency in its production
acknowledged by the Government, he perceived at once the ne
cessity of confiding his business to the hands of a competent

AMOS KENDALL ENGAGED. 513

*

agent, who should administer the trust to their mutual advan
tage. Such a man he found. The Hon. Amos Kendall was a
native of Massachusetts, a graduate of Dartmouth College, New
Hampshire. He had spent his active life in Kentucky, and had
been called to Washington by General Jackson, when that dis
tinguished man became President of the United States. Mr.
Kendall had acquired a national reputation by his able, wise, and
energetic administration as Postmaster-General of the United
States under President Jackson. In that office he had become
thoroughly familiar with the postal affairs of the country, and
had demonstrated executive ability that commanded the admira
tion of the friends and opponents of the Administration. Pro
fessor Morse was peculiarly happy in securing the services of
such a man, and in March, 1845, he constituted Mr. Kendall his
attorney, and committed his telegraphic interests to his control.
A contract was concluded with the original proprietors, S. F. B.
Morse, Alfred Yail, and L. D. Gale, and Amos Kendall, by
which Mr. Kendall became their agent, and was clothed with
full powers to manage the business according to his own judg
ment.

The proprietors of the Morse patent, despairing of action by
Congress for the adoption of the Telegraph which it had called
into existence, on the 15th day of May, 1845, organized a joint-
stock company under the name of " The Magnetic Telegraph
Company, for the purpose of constructing and carrying on a line
of said Telegraph from ]S"ew York to Washington." The follow
ing persons constituted this first telegraphic organization in the
United States, viz., Samuel F. B. Morse, Leonard D. Gale, Al
fred Yail, by their attorneys in fact, Amos Kendall, Francis O.
J. Smith, B. B. French, Keller, and Greenough, by J. J. Green-
ough, Charles Monroe, David Gold, E. Cornell, A. Warren
Paine, James A. Mclaughlin, Charles G. Page, T. L. & A.
Thos. Smith, Jno. M. Broadhead, J. C. Broadhead, by J. M.
Broadhead, Amos Kendall, P. G. Washington, John E. Kendall,
Corcoran & Biggs, John J. Waley, Eliphalet Case, by F. O. J.
Smith. An 'act of incorporation was obtained from the Mary
land Legislature, and the first list of subscribers to the stock of
the company antedating the act of incorporation, and under the
articles of association, was as follows :
33

514

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Corcoran & Riggs $1,000

B. B. French 1,000

Eliphalet Case 1,000

Charles Monroe 1,000

Peter G. Washington 200

John J. Waley, New York. ... 500

John E. Kendall 300

James A. McLaughlin 350

Amos Kendall 500

E. Cornell, New York 500

Daniel Gold 1,000

Simon Brown 500

J. J. Glossbrenner . . 500

John M. Broadhead $1,000

Chas. G. Page 500

Geo. Templeman 200

Henry J. Rogers, Baltimore. . 100

J. W. Murphy, Baltimore 100

A. W. Paine 500

F. 0. J. Smith 2,750

J. Black 200

Keller & Greenough 500

J. G. Broadhead, Boston 500

T. L. & A. T. Smith 200

A. Thos. Smith . . 100

$15,000

From this time the extension of the Telegraph proceeded
step by step, and sometimes with rapid strides, over the United
States of America. Professor Morse had the proud satisfaction
of seeing his invention acknowledged before the world as an
American invention. He felt ambitious to secure that honor to
his country, which he loved with the devotion of a child to its
parent. " When you arrive in sight of dear America," he said,
in a letter from Paris under date of October 13, 1839, to Mr.
Smith embarking in Liverpool homeward bound, " bless it for
me ; and when you land, kiss the very ground for me. Land
of lands ! Oh, that all our countrymen would but know their
blessings ! God hath not dealt so with any nation. We ought
to be the best, as well as the happiest and most prosperous, of
all nations. Nor should we forget to whom we are indebted,
either as a nation, or as individuals, for these more distinguished
favors. ( Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach
to any people.' ':

" The Secret Corresponding Vocabulary, adapted for Use to
Morse's Electro-Magnetic Telegraph, and also in conducting
Written Correspondence transmitted by the Mails, or otherwise,"
was now printed in a volume, prepared by Francis O. J. Smith,
Esq., and published at Portland, Maine. The dedication of the
work is in these words :

To Professor Samuel F. B. Morse, Inventor of the American

Electro-Magnetic Telegraph.

c SIR : The homage of the world during the last half-century
has been, and will ever continue to be, accorded to the name and

FRANKLIN AND MORSE. 515

genius of the illustrious American philosopher, Benjamin Franklin,
for having first taught mankind that the wild and terrific ways and
forces of the electric fluid, as it flies and flashes through the rent
atmosphere, or descends to the surface of the earth, are guided by
positive and fixed laws, as much as the movements of more sluggish
matter in the physical creation ; and that its terrible death-strokes
may be rendered harmless by proper scientific precautions.

" To another name of another. generation, yet of the same proud,
national nativity, the glory has been reserved of having first taught
mankind to reach even beyond the results of Franklin, and to sub
due in a modified state, into the familiar and practical uses of a
household servant, who runs at his master's bidding, this same once
frightful and tremendous element. Indeed, the great work of sci
ence which Franklin commenced for the protection of man, you
have most triumphantly subdued to his convenience. And it needs
not the gift of prophecy to foresee, nor the spirit of personal flattery
to declare, that the names of Franklin and Morse are destined to
glide down the declivity of time together, the equals in the renown
of inventive achievements, until the hand of History shall become
palsied, and whatever pertains to humanity shall be lost in the gen
eral dissolution of matter.

" Of one thus rich in the present applause of his countrymen,
and in the prospect of their future gratitude, it affords the author
of the following compilation, which is designed to contribute in a
degree to the practical usefulness of your invention, a high gratifi
cation to speak in the presence of an enlightened public feeling.

" That you may live to witness the full consummation of the
vast revolution in the social and business relations of your -country-
men, which your genius has proved to be feasible, under the liberal
encouragement of our national councils, and that you may, with
this great gratification, also realize from it the substantial reward
which inventive merit too seldom acquires, in the shape of pecuniary
independence, is the sincere wish of,

" Your most respectful and obedient servant,

"FOREST HOME, WESTBROOK, ME., ) THE AUTHOR.

November 23, 1844." f

The Telegraph must have suddenly asserted itself before the
world to justify such language as this in the first year of its
actual operation. Judge Wayne, of the Supreme Court of the
United States, on receiving a copy of this work, wrote to Mr.

51(3 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Morse : " ISTo one lias watched your career in the arts and in
philosophy with more interest than I have done, or with strong
er wishes for your success, and the eminence which you have at
tained in both, I trust, will be followed by substantial advan
tages, as I know it will be by durable fame."

The spring and summer of 184:5 were passed by Professor
Morse in the discharge of his duties as superintendent of the
Telegraph between Washington *and Baltimore, and it was more
important than ever to keep a watchful eye upon attempts to
invade the rights of the patentees, by pretended improvements
or actual manufacture of the Morse instruments. The Professor
wrote to Mr. Tail, in July :

" You need have no printing-telegraph. I have studied the
principles of our writing as well as our printing telegraph very
thoroughly, and the single key must beat all others, about in the
ratio that a man can write faster than he can set up type — perhaps
a little slower, yet at least half as fast again. I wrote to-day 122
(S's.) in succession in one minute. It is all humbug that House,
even if he were a meeting-house as big as Trinity Church, can print
120 in a minute. I doubt if he can print 30. Depend upon it, all
these printing-telegraphs will explode. Mark my predictions. . . .
I have just received a letter from Mr. Fleischman. Wheatstone
was going to bring out one like mine, in about a week from the
time he wrote, that is, if he can make it. I am exceedingly anxious
to be beforehand with him : I believe I shall be, for he cannot ' con
ceive how I produce my marks, or how 1 produce so powerful a
magnet.' Fleischman has gone to Paris, and hopes to do something
in Germany for us. I have not the least doubt but I can produce,
on my principle of alphabetic writing or printing, a rapidity of com
munication as far beyond any thing the printing-telegraph men
have dreamt of, as lightning is beyond railroad speed ; and it is by
methods known to you and me. But keep dark upon the subject.
Give me specimens of timed writers to take with me. Try your
best. I sail on the 6th of August in the Ashburton, for Liverpool.'3

YORK, July 30, 1845.
" I have a capital letter from the Russian Minister Bodisco, who
has given me a letter to Count Nesselrode, the Prime-Minister of
Russia, and next in power to the emperor. I would not be san
guine, but still I hope to effect something. I have received Dr.

MORSE IN EUROPE. 517

Page's letter, for which thank him for me, and say : ' Doctor, I stick
to it and can prove it mathematically, that the mode of suspending
the rotating keeper which I suggested, is the STEADIEST ! ! ! and
on the other side of this sheet I think I can show that the bevel is
also as effective, if not more so, than the other plan.' The doctor
has erred in supposing that the keeper and the magnet were of the

Professor Morse left New York for Europe August 6, 1845,
and arrived in Liverpool on the 25th. He wrote to Mr. Yail
from London as soon as he arrived :

"LONDON, September 1, 1845.

" I have just taken lodgings with my brother and his family,
preparatory to looking about for a week, when I shall continue my
journey to Stockholm and St. Petersburg, by the way of Hamburg
direct from London. On my way from Liverpool, I saw at Rugby
the telegraph-wires of Wheatstone, which extend, I understood, as
far as Northampton. I went into the office as the train stopped a
moment, and had a glimpse of the instrument, as we have. seen it
in the Illustrated Times. The place was the ticket-office, and the
man very uncommunicative ; but he told me it was not in operation,
and that they did not use it much. This is easily accounted for, from
the fact that the two termini are inconsiderable places, and Wheat-
stone's system clumsy and complicated. The advantage of record
ing is incalculable, and in this I have the undisputed superiority.
As soon I can visit the telegraph-office here, I will give you the
result of my observation. I shall probably do nothing until I re
turn from the North."

Professor Morse immediately placed himself in communica
tion with the " General Commercial Telegraph Company " in
London, and submitted to them a proposition to demonstrate
the superiority of his instrument over those in use in England,
and to receive for the use of his instrument a small sum in hand,
and only one-quarter of what the company would save by sub
stituting his apparatus for their own ! He was invited to meet
a committee of that company September llth, and, accepting
the invitation, he made to them the following proposition in
writing :

" In prefacing my proposition to you, I would beg leave to ask,
if Mr. Wheatstone or Davy in their systems can give a certain

518

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

amount of intelligence with two wires in one minute, is not a system
which gives double the amount with one wire in the same time
worth four times as much?

" I will guarantee that my apparatus shall accomplish what I
promise it shall do, and ocular demonstration shall be given.

" I have with me the apparatus complete for establishing my
system of Electro-Magnetic Telegraphs, now in such successful
operation in the United States. I have a part of the apparatus
never revealed to the public, and which is ess'ential to the efficacy
of my plan. I can put it in operation (if arrangements are con
cluded with a company) in a few days. If we can agree on terms,
I will delay my visit to Russia ; put in order the apparatus ; fully
explain it to those authorized by you to take out the patent for you,
and leave my whole apparatus with you. I will also instruct two
persons whom you may designate in the use of it.

" On the delivery of the apparatus into your possession, you
shall pay me one thousand pounds sterling, and further guarantee
to pay me one-fourth part of the savings derived from the use of
my system. That is to say, ascertain the utmost amount of intelli
gence under the most favorable circumstances that Messrs. Wheat-
stone & Cooke, or Mr. Davy, can give in a minute, and the number
of wires necessary to produce their result. If I cannot give more
under the same circumstances in the same time, I will ask no more
than the one thousand pounds to be paid down on delivery to you
of the apparatus, although the advantage alone of recording in so
simple and easy a manner is very greatly in favor of mine. If I can
give more, then I must be paid, in addition, a certain proportion of
the savings by my system. For example, say that Messrs. W. & C.
or Mr. D., by giving the signals complete for twenty-five letters of
the alphabet in one minute, enable you to realize fifteen per cent,
on your capital ; if I can by my system give you fifty letters per
minute, I enable you to realize a much larger per cent., and I will
then ask one-fourth part of your savings derived from the use of my
system. To illustrate my proposition, say that the expense of one
wire from London to Birmingham will cost £500. Four will cost
£2,000. Suppose that I can communicate with two wires as much
information as W. or D. can give with four. Here would be a
saving of £1,000 to you. Of this I propose you should pay me
£250. Say that W. & C. or D's apparatus at each station cost £80,
and mine but £40, here would be a saving of £40. I propose you
should pay, on account of this saving, £10.

LETTER TO LOUIS McLANE. 5^9

" Say that two attendants are necessary at eacli station with
W. & C.'s or D.'s apparatus with salary of £100 per annum each,
and mine should require but one, here would be a saving of £100
per annum at each station. Of this sum I propose you should pay
me £25 per annum, and so for the saving in any other item of ex
pense."

The Hon. Louis McLane was at that time the American
Minister in England, and with him Professor Morse had re
peated interviews in regard to the introduction of his system
into European countries. To meet some difficulties in the mind
of Mr. McLane in regard to the chronology of telegraphs, Pro
fessor Morse addressed him this important letter :

" 13 BROMPTON SQUARE, September 15, 1845.

" MY DEAR SIB : Accompanying this are the documents I prom
ised in conversation with you this morning, and I have procured
and reexamined with some attention the article in the ^Electrical
Magazine, to which you had the kindness to direct my notice.
There is so much obscurity in the description of his arrangements,
arising probably ' from the translation, that I am really in doubt
whether M. Matteucci's experiments are a repetition of mine or not.
His experiments, in repetition of M. Mangrini's, and made with
so many precautions, appear to me to have no novelty in them.
Franklin made the ground for a distance of three or four miles a
part of an electrical circuit, for the passage of common electricity,
and Professor Steinheil, of Munich, as far back as 1837, showed
that galvanic electricity was subject to the same law. My tele
graphic circuit, as you well know, is constructed on this well-known
fact in science, the ground for forty miles making one-half of my
circuit since the earliest moment of its construction ; and I am a lit
tle surprised that at this late date so much wonder at a result so
long known should be manifested by so distinguished a man of
science as Matteucci.

" In regard to crossing rivers without wires, whether M. Mat
teucci's experiments are a repetition of mine or not, the dates of his
experiments and mine are now in your possession, and will resolve
any doubt whether his or mine were earliest. Matteucci's seem to
have been performed in the early part of the present year, while
mine were made in 1842, and were announced at the time in the
Journal of Commerce, long before they were presented to Congress
in the form you have (in document 24), which bears date 1844.

520 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

There was ample time intervening between this late date and the
date of M. M.'s experiment to have reached Europe and to circulate
through the scientific world.

" From the magazine on your table, page 78, paragraph ' Chess
by Telegraph? you will observe an instance of the mode in which
the public here are made to believe in the priority of experiments
on their Telegraph. When I have mentioned in conversation the
games of chess played by means of my Telegraph between B. and
W., the answer has uniformly been, ' Oh, ah, yes, we have had that
experiment on ours long ago.' This English game of chess and
its precise date I saw announced in a paper published a few days
after it occurred, with a great flourish, as marking an era in the
game of chess. The date, as you perceive, is Wednesday and
Thursday, April 9 and 10, 1845. The date of one of our games of
chess (see page 3, document 24) is December 5, 1844.

" On the last page of the magazine, page 80, and the last para
graph but one, you will see a notice of my discovery of a mode
of causing electricity to cross rivers."

Professor Morse, having accomplished nothing in London,
continued Ms journey to the north of Europe, and his letters to
his daughter, gave a lively account of his journey to Hamburg
and his return.

"HAMBURG, September 27, 1845.

"My DEAB SIJSA^: Every thing being ready on the morning of
the 17th instant (September), we left Brompton Square in very
rainy and stormy weather, and drove down to the Custom-house
Wharf, and went on board our destined steamer, the William
Joliffe, a dirty, black-looking, tub-like thing, about as large but
not half so neat as a North-River wood-sloop. The wind was fresh
from the southwest, blowing a gale, with rain, and I confess I did
not much fancy leaving land in so unpromising a craft, and in such
weather ; yet our vessel proved an excellent sea-boat, and, although
all were sea-sick on board but Mr. Ellsworth and myself, we had a
safe but rough passage across the boisterous North Sea. The
weather cleared up, however, before we arrived in mid-channel, and
the moon, breaking through the clouds, made the latter part of our
voyage more agreeable. We made the light on the island of Schou-
wen, on the Dutch shore, a little after midnight,, and at daylight
found ourselves in smooth water opposite Helvoetsluis. We were
compelled, on account of the tide, to make a circuitous route to

TELEGRAPH AT AMSTERDAM. 521

this place, close to Dort, and, passing Delft Haven, arrived at the
H6tel des Pays Bas in Rotterdam, about half-past two o'qlock, on
the 18th instant. On the morning of the 19th we took a carriage,
and drove about the city. There is nothing like a Dutch city on our
side of the water. The wide and deep canals, in which the largest
class of vessels, as well as the smaller craft, lie opposite your win
dows; the singular rig of their vessels, the sides, and masts, and
blocks of which are all brightly polished and varnished (even the
anchors being rubbed bright), give to their streets a very novel
appearance. We went in the afternoon to Delft Haven, a place I
was very desirous of seeing on account of its associations with the
embarkation of the Pilgrims. I presume we were on the spot
whence they embarked, and where the distinguished Robinson knelt
and prayed with them before they went on board the Speedwell.
In the evening we left Rotterdam for the Hague in a carriage, and
at the latter place arrived in the nick of time to take the cars for
Haarlem and Amsterdam. At Haarlem I saw a single wire on
small posts, not so high as the railroad-cars, which I learned was
an electric telegraph. It is on Mr. Wheatstone's plan, and I have
since had ocular demonstration that it is far less efficient than
mine.1 We arrived late in the evening, and, finding the principal

1 Professor Morse made the following memorandum at the time :

" AMSTERDAM, Monday, September 22, 1845.

" Went to see the Telegraph which is established here between Amsterdam and
Haarlem. The Amsterdam terminus is at the railway-depot, and used for the pur
poses of the road only. It has been established six weeks. It communicates a dis
tance of only ten miles English. The system is Wheatstone's ratchet-wheel instru
ment, slightly modified from the instrument shown me at the Southampton terminus
in London. A dial-plate, with the letters marked upon the outer edge, is turned to
the desired point for each letter, and then stopped a moment to be recognized. After
each word a period is shown, and after each message a cross +. I inquired how
many letters could be shown in a minute ; the answer was fifteen ordinarily, but
they could give twenty-four in a minute. A single wire is used in this case ; it is
said to be iron. A battery of six cups was shown me, which required replenishing
every few days. The cost, the conductor told me, was about twenty pounds sterling
per mile. The posts are about three inches diameter, and not more than eight or
nine feet high; they are planted along the railroad, not so high as the tops of the
cars. The telegraph is not used at present for general purposes, but the Government
has been petitioned to grant them the privilege, and it is expected to be granted. It
is -used exclusively for the service of the railroad. The wire is covered with silk,
and of iron ; so said the superintendent. It is larger than mine — about No. 12.

" Remarks : In this instrument Wheatstone has left his needles, and taken up
the electro-magnet, the basis of my system. The conductor told me that Mr. Wheat-
stone was engaged upon an instrument which would print the letter, and that it
would be ready in about two weeks. From what I could learn it might possibly

522

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

hotels full, at length got lodged at the H6tel Bonded. The next day
(Saturday), having ascertained that we must remain till Wednes
day of the next week, we determined to see a little of the vicin
ity of Amsterdam. We had heard much of the singular Dutch
village of Broek ; so, taking a boat, we crossed the harbor, and
hired a carriage to take us six miles to the village. On the way
we turned aside for a few moments to look into the interior of a
Dutch farm-house, and to learn a little of its economy. You can
not conceive of its extreme neatness and order. I thought of Aunt
Salisbury all the while I was there, wishing she could be with me,
for she would have enjoyed it of all things. The stalls of the cows
are kept with as much care as any parlor. The dairy, or rather the
cheese-room, is in the same room with the cows, and is set round
with the crockery-wrare. All the iron and brass utensils, every
chair and nail-head, are polished perfectly. The floors in the stalls
are of clean shells and gravel. It is difficult to imagine what is
done with all the litter of a cow-house, unless the Dutch cows have
learned the rare secret of living without eating and drinking.
Every part of the process of cheese-making is conducted with
such superlative neatness and cleanliness, that I think I shall eat
Dutch cheeses in preference to all other kinds. We purchased two,
at a guilder (forty cents) each. We were shown also the apart
ments of the family. The tables, chairs, bureaus, floors, all wrere
of the same character of neatness. Not a spot or particle of dirt,
not a fly or spider, or any insect, could be found in any nook or
corner of the whole house. One would suppose it had been ex
pressly fitted up for exhibition, and yet we were told this was but
a fair specimen of all Dutch farm-houses.

print as fast as it now shows a letter ; that is, ordinarily, about fifteen letters per min
ute, while mine ordinarily prints forty-five, and can print eighty, and, with some new
arrangements of my first mechanism, at least one hundred and fifty letters per minute.
I have, therefore, still the advantage. I have adhered strictly to the plan of mine
first conceived in 1832. I still retain my single circuit of one wire ; my alphabet
invented to suit my system, my power the electro-magnet, and with this arrangement
I now print in legible characters at least sixty letters per minute ; while Mr. Wheat-
stone, whose first invention of an electric telegraph was in 1837, first used five mag
netic needles and six conducting wires. He has been varying his system until he
has first reduced his needles to three, and then to two, Avith as many conductors,
and at length has, in 1840, adopted the electro-magnet, the basis of mine, as the
% b )f his new arrangement ; by which he only shows fifteen, or, at the most, twen-
tters per minute, and is expecting to print as many by another modification
f his invention. With these facts, the scientific world may form their judgment
who was the inventor of the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph."

THE EXCESS OF NEATNESS. 533

" The inn at Broek was another example of the same neatness.
Here we took a little refreshment before going into the village. We
walked, of course, for no carriage, not even a wheelbarrow, appeared
to be allowed, any more than in a gentleman's parlor. Every thing
about the exterior of the houses and gardens was as carefully cared
for as the furniture and embellishments of the interior. The streets
(or rather alleys, like those of a garden) were narrow, and paved
with small, variously-colored bricks, forming every variety of orna
mental figures. The houses, from the highest to the lowest class,
exhibited not merely comfort, but luxury ; yet, it was a selfish sort
of luxury. The perpetually-closed door, and shut-up room of cere
mony, the largest and most conspicuous of all in the house, gave
an air of inhospitableness which, I should hope, was not indicative
of the real character of the inhabitants ; yet it seemed to be a
deserted village, a place of the dead, rather than of the living, an
ornamented graveyard. The liveliness of social beings was absent
and was even inconsistent with the superlative neatness of all around
us. It was a best parlor out-of-doors, where the gayety of frolicking
children would derange the set order of the furniture, or an acci
dental touch of a sacrilegious foot might scratch the polish of a
fresh-varnished fence, or flatten down the nap of the green carpet
of grass, every blade of which is trained to grow exactly so. The
grounds and gardens of a Mr. Yander Beck were, indeed, a curiosity
from the strange mixture of the useful with the ridiculously orna- .
mental. Here were the beautiful banks of a lake, and Nature's
embellishment of reeds and water-plants, which, for a wonder, were
left to grow in their native luxuriance, and in the midst a huge
pasteboard or wooden swan, and a wooden mermaid of tasteless
proportions, blowing from a conch-shell. In another part were a
cottage with puppets, the size of life, moving by clock-work, a peas
ant smoking and turning a reel to wind off the thread which his
" goed vrow " is spinning upon a wheel, while a most sheep-like dog
is made to open his mouth and to bark — a'dog which is, doubtless,
the progenitor of all the barking, toyshop dogs of the world ; and
directly in the vicinity is a beautiful grapery, with the richest clus
ters of grapes literally covering the top, sides, and walls of the
greenhouse, which stands in the midst of a garden, gay with dahlias
and amaranths, and every variety of flow^ers, with delicious fruits
thickly studding the well-trained trees. Every thing, however, was
cut up into miniature landscapes ; little bridges and little temples
adorned little canals, and little mounds, miniature representations
of streams and hills.

524

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" We visited the residence of the burgomaster. He was away,
and his servants permitted us to see the house. It was cleaning-
day. Every thing in the house was in keeping with the character
of the village. But, the kitchen ! how shall I describe it ? The
polished marble floor, the dressers, with glass doors like a book- case,
to keep the least particle of dust from the bright-polished utensils
of brass and copper. The varnished mahogany handle of the brass
spigot, lest the moisture of the hand in turning it should soil its
polish : and, will you believe it, the very pot-hooks as well as the
cranes (for there were two) in the fireplace were as bright as your
scissors ! Broek is, certainly, a curiosity. It is unique, but the im
pression left upon me is not, on the whole, agreeable. I should not
be contented to live there. It is too ridiculously and uncomfort
ably nice. Fancy a lady always dressed throughout the day in her
best evening-party dress, and say if she could move about with
that ease which she would like. Such, however, must be the feel
ing of the inhabitants of Broek ; they must be in perpetual fear,
not only of soiling or deranging their clothes merely, but their very
streets, every step they take. But, good-by to Broek. I would
not have missed seeing it, but do not care to see it again.

" In Amsterdam we were compelled to stay four or five days to
take the steamer to Hamburg, which goes but twice a week. I
found here an American artist of great merit, Mr. Schwartze, of
Philadelphia. I went with him to see some of the galleries of pict
ures. I also went one evening to a place of amusement called
FrascatVS) after a celebrated cafe of that name in Paris. A large
room fitted up with evergreens and statuary, and a fine band of
music, is the evening resort of the citizens to take coffee and other
refreshments, and to hear the music.

" WEDNESDAY, September 24, six O'CLOCK, p. M. /
On board Steamer Willem de Ernest for Hamburg. \

" We have just embarked on board the steamer for Hamburg.
The weather, so essential in the life of a traveler, is beautifully
calm, and as we lie at anchor off the booms in the harbor, awaiting
the hour of midnight to get under way, the chimes of the clocks, so
famous in the Dutch cities, give us a serenade every half-hour.

" HAMBURG, September 26th.

" At midnight we set sail from Amsterdam yesterday, and had

not proceeded five miles before we ran aground, and were unable

3 proceed for five or six hours. We at length got under way

RETURN TO LONDON. 525

again, and pushed out into the North Sea through the outlet be
tween Wieland and Ter Schilling, sailing over the Zuyder-Zee,
which is a large expanse of water, the effect of an inundation many
centuries ago, which deluged many cities and fields like those now
existing in Holland, destroying some eighty thousand lives. One
feels in Holland like being in a ship, constantly liable to spring a
leak. We had some pleasant passengers on board, principally
Dances. Count Bllicher, aide-de-camp to the King of Denmark, and
cousin to the celebrated general of that name who led the Prus
sians at the battle of Waterloo. Hamburg, you may remember,
was nearly destroyed by fire in 1842. It is now almost rebuilt, and
in a most splendid style of architecture. I am much prepossessed in
its favor. We have taken up our quarters at the Victoria Hotel,
one of the splendid new hotels of the city. I find the season so
far advanced in these northern regions that I am thinking of giving
up my journey farther -north. My matters in London will demand
all my spare time.

" September 30tfi.

" The windows of my hotel look out upon the Alster Basin, a
beautiful sheet of water ; three sides of which are surrounded with
splendid houses. Boats and swans are gliding over the glassy sur
face, giving, with the well-dressed promenaders along the shores, an
air of gayety and liveliness to the scene.

" LONDON, October 9, 1845.

" I am once more seated at the table at No. 13 Brompton Square,
after my journey and voyage to Hamburg, and continue my letter,
which has been written at such intervals of time as I could catch
from out-door duties. Mrs. Overmann and family left on the 30th
ultimo, in the August, to go down the Elbe. I went on board
the steamer Caledonia, for London, on the evening of the 3d in
stant, having parted most reluctantly from my friends, the Ells
worths, on the 30th ultimo, they having left that day for Lubeck
and Stockholm. On going on board, Mr. Miller brought a little
girl, and introduced her to me as Miss Axelina Murdoch, a niece
of Mr. Lind, and said she was to be a fellow-passenger with me
to London, where she is going to school. She is quite a pretty and
intelligent little girl, of fourteen years, and we had a great deal to
say about St. Thomas, and ' Uncle Edward,' and her school in Lon
don. I took charge of her. We set sail in the night, and in the
morning, after passing a great number of vessels, we saw several
ships ahead. I told Axelina we must look out for the August ; for

526

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

I was sure she could not jet have got out of the river, as the wind
had been contrary ever since they sailed from Hamburg, and, sure
enough, just as we were about to sit down to breakfast, we were
coming up fast with a ship under full sail, and, just off Cuxhaven,
as soon as we came near enough to read her name, I found it, in
deed, to be the August. We passed so near as to distinguish the
persons on board. I saw only Mr. Lunt on deck, the rest being
below on account of the weather, which was a little rainy. We
shook our handkerchief, and Mr. Lunt, after surveying us with the
spy-glass, disappeared, and in a moment after the whole family were
at the side of the ship shaking handkerchiefs, and nodding farewell
to Axelina and myself, whom they recognized. We were soon past
them, but we had the gratification thus of once more greeting them
before they sailed for the West Indies.

" We had a boisterous and disagreeable day, but a still more
boisterous night ; the sea was so high and the vessel so uneasy,
that I could not lie in my berth, and at midnight I opened the door
of the companion-way and looked out on the tempest, for it was
then blowing a perfect gale. I had no sooner opened the door than
I saw a brilliant rocket go up from a vessel close to us, and a blue
light from the same vessel showed us a large steamer coming tow
ard us. Our captain at once gave orders to our helmsman to put
up the helm, which was done, and a rocket and blue light were
burned on board ours. I supposed at first it was a signal of dis
tress, but in a few moments I learned that it was the steamer for
Hamburg from London which we were meeting, and these rockets
and blue lights were to prevent us from running foul of each other.
Edward was on board that steamer, and thus we met, without see
ing each other, at midnight in a storm in the midst of the North
Sea. The wind was fair for him, and he probably arrived in the
morning or during the day at Cuxhaven, and passed as near to his
friends in the August without knowing it. We arrived in Lon
don on Monday, and I carried little Axelina to her aunt Napier's.
Mrs. Napier is sister of Axelina's father, and Mr. Napier is the cele
brated machinist and inventor of the Napier press, and a very
wealthy and distinguished man. I mean to call and see them all
before I leave London. Edward had been there, and they supposed
he was still in London ; but I found, as soon as I got to Brompton
Square, that he had sailed in the Neptune steamer for Hamburg,
which was the one we met, as I have described.

" I have thought of you a great deal, my dear daughter, and

MR. FLEISCHMANN IN VIENNA. 537

how disappointed you must have felt, on finding us all gone (when
you arrived in New York). I really could have cried, myself, to
think of your disappointment ; but cheer up, dear Susan, I hope we
shall have a meeting all the pleasanter for these disappointments.
We live, indeed, in a changing world ; there is nothing stable or
settled here, and yet we look to being settled as a great desidera
tum. I do hope yet to have a home, where I can have my children
visit me-, and have the comforts of home around them. I often feel
sad to think of my privation in this respect ; but I have so much to
be thankful for, that I would repress all sad feelings of this sort,
lest they savor of repining and unthankfulness.

" I know not what to say of my telegraphic matters here yet.
There is nothing decided upon, and I have many obstacles to con
tend against, particularly the opposition of the proprietors of ex
isting telegraphs. But that mine is the best system, I have now
no doubt ; all that T have seen, while they are ingenious, are more
complicated, more expensive, less efficient, and easier deranged. It
may take some time to establish the superiority of mine over the
others, for there is the usual array of prejudice and interest against
a system which throws others out of use."

The Morse Telegraph was becoming well known on the Con
tinent of Europe, through the agency of two young Americans,
Charles Robinson and Charles L. Chapin, who went abroad with
the hope of securing its introduction. They visited Hamburg,
St. Petersburg, and Berlin. After two years they returned to
America, with abundant evidence that they had been successful
in demonstrating to scientific men and to the commercial public
the decided superiority of the American system.

In 1845 Charles T. Fleischmann, Esq., agent of the United
States Patent-Office, was hi Europe, and collecting valuable in
formation on agriculture, arts, and education. He took with
him the Telegraph of Professor Morse, the fame of which had
preceded him, and in letters to his family he gave sketches of
the effects of its operation, and of the distinguished persons to
whom he exhibited the instrument. From Yienna he wrote :

" October 9, 1845. — I was told I must see Baron Huegel, coun
selor of the court, and friend of Prince Metternich. I found the
baron already acquainted with my arrival in Yienna, and my object ;
he received me very politely and requested me to partake of his

528

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

breakfast, but I declined; and he then invited me to see the curios
ities of his rooms, the walls of which are literally covered with old
paintings, and of collections of antiquilies of great interest and va
riety. After he was dressed he ordered his carriage, and we went
to see Prince Metternich, at his villa near the city. We arrived,
and I waited in a beautiful room adjoining the prince's office ; but,
after waiting an hour, Baron Huegel returned and stated that the
prince could not now see me, as he was engaged to go to the arch
duke, but to-morrow he would be pleased to see me. The princess
also went to town, and then the Baron Huegel took me over the
whole house, showing me all the different departments. Beautiful
and rare statuary was everywhere displayed. We went into the
princess's sitting-room, a large apartment tastily arranged. Her
writing-desk, especially, struck' me ; it was surrounded by a screen
of ivy, which made a kind of bower, and gave the whole an air of
enchantment. The prince's office is likewise tastily arranged, and
no one would suppose that in that room the deepest and most im
portant diplomatic schemes are projected and carried out — schemes
upon which the destinies of nations depend. The villa is one-story
high, and the wings contain the saloons for receptions on great oc
casions. The family live in a house adjoining. The grounds which
surround this charming villa are extensive and delightful. We
returned to the city, and the baron very kindly placed me at my
own door, inviting me to see him to-morrow to make another at
tempt to see the prince. Baron Huegel is the brother of the gen
tleman who paid his addresses to the princess before she married
the Prince Metternich, and he has great influence with the prince.
He advised me to postpone my tour into Hungary, and attend to
the matter of the Telegraph, as it is just now before the Govern
ment, to which I consented. Thus you see I am brought in contact
with the most influential and distinguished men in Austria.

" Friday.— At two o'clock I went to the palace of the prince in
the city. I sent in my card to the Baron Huegel, who sent me
word that after a few minutes he would see me and introduce me
to the prince. I was with several gentlemen who were also wait
ing in the antechamber ; every thing here looked well kept, distin
gue without being showy or extravagant. After waiting an hour,
the Baron Huegel came to me and announced that the prince was
ready to receive me. I passed through one room, and entering an
other I found the prince at his desk, and the princess, also, who was
engaged in arranging her own desk. The prince rose, and, saying

AUSTRIAN STATESMEN. 529

he was pleased to make my acquaintance, alluded to the letter
which I brought him from Count Uoyna, ambassador at Brussels.
I told him I had the honor of showing to Count Uoyna the Tele
graph, and that he was so much pleased with it that he recom
mended me to show it to the prince* We conversed on the merits
of the different systems of Telegraphs. I explained to him the su
periority of Morse's, and said I should be happy to show him the
instrument, and make an experiment with it before him. He said,
4 Have you an instrument with you ? ' I told him that I had
brought a full apparatus with me, and was ready at any time to ex
hibit it at his command, and asked if he would allow me to put ft
up somewhere ; and when T told him I could put it up in his palace,
he was exceedingly pleased, and immediately ordered that every
facility should be given me. He said it was highly interesting just
at this moment to see the American Telegraph, since his Majesty
has given orders that Electro-Magnetic Telegraphs should be put
up along the railroads, and, if the American Telegraph should prove
to be what it was reported to be, it should be applied. After sev
eral other questions in regard to its construction, its practicability,
etc., I took my leave. He followed me to the antechamber, where
he asked me if this was my only object of coming here. I told him
that I was sent by our Government to examine into agriculture,
etc., and we had some conversation about locomotives, and then 1
left the prince and his lady. The prince is a noble-looking, highly-
intelligent, elderly gentleman ; his conversation is precise, like that
of a great diplomatist ; every word has its bearing, not more and
not less. His lady is young, about thirty-eight, and handsome.
She was very busily engaged with papers, and I had only once or
twice a 'chance to see her face. The prince told me that he had
spoken to the High Kammer, President Baron Kucbeck, about me,
and I shall go and see him, and I was informed that next Thursday
at three o'clock he would see me. Voild! my first interview with
great statesmen. Next week I put the Telegraph in operation,
which will excite great curiosity, as I have begun at the head of
society, and shall have everybody of distinction to see it. To
morrow I have an interview with Baron Huegel about the place in
the palace, and the necessary battery. The baron is very friendly
toward me.

" Thursday. — At three o'clock I went to see Baron Kucbeck,
the Minister of Finance, the next highest officer to the Prince Met-
ternich. I found the antechamber full of gentlemen, waiting for
34

530

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

audience, many with great parade, and all sorts of uniforms, among
which the Hungarian magnate was the most conspicuous. I gave
my name to the usher, and made up my mind to wait until five
o'clock, till my turn should come. After a few minutes the bell
rang, the usher went in with his long list, and soon the door opened
and my name was called loud enough to be heard by the whole city.
I was quite flattered, and every one. looked at me, especially the
•uniformed gentlemen, already fixing their swords to be in readiness
when their names should be called. I went in, found the Baron
Kucbeck standing in the centre of the room. He received me
very politely, and, after exchanging the usual ' How do you do's ? '
Le said he was glad to see me, and especially at the moment when
the subject of the construction of the Telegraphs was before him.
He offered me a chair, and we went from A to Z about telegraphs,
America, etc. He requested me to show him the experiments, and
if the American Telegraph showed advantages over others he would
be happy to see it go into operation. He requested me to come
and see him again.

" Saturday. — Prince Metternich is moving into the city, and
next week I shall make the experiments with the Telegraph, before
his highness. I saw Baron Huegel this morning, who told me that
Baron Kucbeck wished to see me about the experiments, and that
he would like to show me the greenhouses of his brother at Heilzing,
and he invited me to ride out with him to that place to-morrow, to
which I consented. I accordingly went. His brother has in his
greenhouses forty thousand specimens of plants, and in his whole
garden over three hundred thousand plants. It is said it is the
greatest collection of plants on the Continent. His apartments are
beautifully furnished, and stored with Indian and Chinese curiosi
ties which he collected when in those countries. The greenhouses
extend from the dwelling, and are beautifully arranged, and en
livened with birds and fountains.

" October 27, 1845.— At length, yesterday, I exhibited the Tele
graph before the Minister of Finance, a most admirable and accom
plished statesman. He seemed to be pleased with it, and requested
me to show it as soon as possible to Prince Metternich. To-day I
was called upon and informed that the prince was ready to see the
experiments. The carriage was announced which was to take me
to the palace of the prince. I had to wait two hours before the
council was over. At last the prince appeared with his counsel
ors. I explained the Telegraph to them, pointing out the differ-

AT THE EMPEROR'S PALACE. 531

ence of Morse's system from that of others, and its advantages over
every other. The prince listened with great interest. He sent for
the princess and his family to look at this wonderful instrument.
My experiments went off well. The prince exhibited great satis
faction. He expressed several times his astonishment at the sim
plicity of the instrument, and thanked me very politely for the oppor
tunity I had given him to see the ' beautiful Telegraph,' and wished
that I would be so kind as to show it to the brother of the emperor,
and to the emperor himself, saying that he should tell them of it,
and he would send me word at what time I could exhibit it to them.

" Monday ', November 3d. — I hoped by this time to give you
some account of my interview with the emperor ; but such great
personages are not easy to approach. Count Colobrant, the Minis
ter of the Interior, sent to inquire if I would be so kind as to show
him the Telegraph. I assented, but I know not when he expects me.

" November 5th. — I received an invitation this morning to be at
one o'clock at the emperor's palace, to show the Telegraph to the
uncle of the emperor, the Archduke Louis, and Count Colobrant, the
Minister of the Interior. I had scarcely put the apparatus in mo
tion when his imperial highness was announced, an elderly gentle
man, dressed as plainly as a bourgeois could be, having the real feat
ures of the imperial family. He requested me to explain the Tele
graph to him, so I explained it, having some difficulty in bringing
out of my mouth his long titles. He was very much interested, and
he was a long time with me. I told him there was nothing like it
in the world. He observed that he had been very curious to see it,
and that he was exceedingly pleased with its simplicity and prac
ticability. I gave him a regular lecture on electricity and magnet
ism, etc. The Count Colobrant was exceedingly polite, and thanked
me for my interesting explanations.

" I had almost given up the idea that I should see the emperor,
but it seems that the whole court is anxious to see this wonder from
America, and to-day I am requested to appear to-morrow at one
o'clock at the palace, as his Majesty and his family have expressed
a desire to see the Telegraph. I had an interview with the gen
tleman who has the business in his hands to report on the subject,
and he told me that he proposed two telegraphs, Morse's, of Amer
ica, and Bain's, of England — Morse's for the principal stations, and
Bain's for the intermediate places. There is, in fact, a great deal
of interest shown just now in the Telegraph, and in what the court
takes an interest the whole country does.

532

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

"November 8th.— According to my promise, I give you a de
scription of my interview with the imperial family. Prince Metter-
nich found the Telegraph so exceedingly interesting that he men
tioned it to the whole court, which opened all doors to me. I con
sequently had interviews with Baron Kucbeck, Minister of Finance,
Count Colobrant, Minister of the Interior, and his imperial highness
Archduke Louis, who all agreed in Prince Metternich's account, and
the imperial family invited me to bring the instrument to the court.^
I went there at one o'clock to set it up. I passed through the
guards. The page in waiting opened the door leading into the
great reception-room of Maria Theresa. The chamberlain in wait
ing ordered the servants to bring me tables, and in a few minutes
the apparatus was ready. Prince Metternich passed through with
the Archduke Louis and his aide-de-camp. Soon after the emperor
and empress were announced, followed by Prince Metternich, the
Archduke Louis, and many others. Prince Metternich explained
the Telegraph to the empress in Italian, as she does not speak the
German language, and I explained it to the emperor. After the
empress had examined and admired it, she withdrew, followed by
the whole party ; but in a moment the emperor returned with his
suite, and I showed him again the method of writing, etc. He was
very much pleased, and he understood it very well. He is good-
natured and polite, and thanked me repeatedly for the opportunity
I had afforded him 'to see an instrument of which he had heard so
much. Prince Metternich repeated to him the advantages it had
over all others, and, after I had written for each one some words,
they took the strips of paper with them and retired. The emperor,
in retiring, bowed many times, repeating his thanks, and wishing
me good success.

" I have thus had an opportunity of seeing the great Emperor
of Austria. He is a small man, delicate, but apparently enjoying
good health. His head is the most remarkable part about him ; it
is very large, and the forehead of uncommon shape and circumfer
ence. His eyes are hid under heavy eyebrows, and when he looks
at a person he turns up his eyes without lifting up his head, which
gives him a peculiar expression. His lips are large, a family feature
of the imperial family. His voice is sharp and feeble ; he moves
very quick, and seems somewhat nervous. He was dressed in a
blue dress-coat, and had the order of the Golden Fleece in his but
ton-hole. I forgot to mention that the Duchess de Berri came in
while the empress was present. The empress is tall and thin, of

IMPERIAL PALACE. 533

about forty years of age. She seems very amiable, and is very
kind to the poor.

" The chamberlain requested me to wait a few moments longer
for his highness the Archduke Charles, the hero of Austria, who
faced Napoleon's armies, and who is distinguished both as a warrior
and a diplomatist. He soon appeared with his son's daughter on
his arm, and with two sons of his. Then came the Archduke
Francis Charles, brother of the present emperor, and the heir to the
crown ; his son, a young man of twenty-five years, with his wife, a
Bavarian princess, a charming woman ; and then a whole set of
dames tfhonneur. They all seemed to be interested, and I gave
them a full lecture on subjects connected with the Telegraph. They
then retired. I am told that very few persons have had such an
opportunity of seeing the whole imperial family as I have had, and
that I should consider it a great honor.

" The Imperial Palace is an old building, but exceedingly com
fortable. The room in which I exhibited the Telegraph was the
room of Maria Theresa, and her morning reception-room was next
to it, in which every thing is as it was in the time of that great
woman. The walls are of red velvet, embroidered with gold. In
the centre stands a large bed of red velvet, and heavily embroidered
with gold and pearl. This is only a show-bed. Several busts of
her children are placed round the room. Near the bed stands a
kind of altar for devotion, which consists of bass-reliefs in marble,
representing Christ leaning on Mary, from the chisel of an Italian
artist. Instead of bureaus, there are large trunks of wood, or boxes,
highly ornamented. The room was not used as a bedchamber, but
as a reception-room for favored persons and friends of Maria Theresa.
It was at that time considered a great honor and distinction to have
an audience in the bedchamber, where the empress received in her
neglige. One thing reminded me of America amid this gorgeous
display of royalty. It was a large fireplace, in which a real West
ern country fire was made up. A large pile of wood was placed on
each side, which had more the appearance of a genuine Kentucky
fireplace than an imperial mode of heating their apartments.

" I passed through muskets, drawn swords^ and servants, to my
carriage, and in a few moments I was in my room to give you an
account of what had happened.

" I must wait now to know what the commission will determine
about the Telegraph. If they should adopt Morse's, much must not
be expected, since they could adopt another plan, which is not so

534 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

good, but which would answer their purpose. I shall, therefore,
leave it to their generosity. I shall be glad, to see Morse have the
honor to have his system employed in a country which abounds with

scientific men."

"VIENNA, November 20, 1845.

" In my last letter I stated that the emperor and family, etc.,
had seen the Telegraph, and there is no doubt that Morse's system
will be adopted, since it has excited universal admiration among all
who have witnessed its operation. Ten days ago I exhibited it be
fore all the foreign diplomatists present at Vienna, among whom
was the ambassador of the pope. I was requested to write all the
names of the crowned heads with telegraphic signs, which these
gentlemen sent to their sovereigns as a curiosity. Many of their
ladies and friends were also present, and I gave a regular lecture
on telegraphs, and made Morse's name sound from one corner of
Europe to the other.

" This morning I received a note, requesting me to bring the
Telegraph once more to the palace of the Archduke Stephen, Gov
ernor of Bohemia, the young prince who is to marry the daughter
of the Emperor of Russia. He is very anxious to see it during his
stay in Vienna, since it is proposed to establish the Telegraph be
tween Prague, which is his residence, and Vienna. At the appoint
ed hour I went to the palace, and arranged the instrument in one
of the apartments for the prince's inspection. He was not in, but
his chamberlain was expecting him every moment to return from
Prince Metternich, with whom he had probably some interview rela
tive to his marriage— for Metternich is not only the great diplomat,
but also the great match-maker for the European monarchs. The
Princess Olga has twice refused Archduke Stephen on account of a
condition of the house of Austria that every princess must be a Ro
man Catholic ; as she is a member of the Greek Church (which is
the religion of the Russian court), the proposed marriage could not
take place unless one of the parties yielded to the other in religious
views. But, of late, the Emperor of Russia seems desirous that his
daughter should marry the prince, and she has consented to join
the Catholic Church. Having waited his return for some time in
vain, I left, promising to call again at half-past five, at which time
I was told he would be at leisure. I did so, and was soon ushered
ough several apartments to the audience-room, where the prince
eived me with much courtesy, expressing his regret that he had
•oubled me to come a second time, and then requested me to ex-

LABORS OF METTERNICH. 535

plain to him the Telegraph and its operation. This was all done
with so much politeness and frankness, such freedom from all liau-
teur, that I felt quite at ease. He is about six feet in height, rath
er a slender figure ; his features are not handsome, but pleasing ;
his eyes are dark, very expressive, and full of vivacity ; his voice is
agreeable, and he expresses himself with facility, and, what is best
of all, he is very intelligent, and, unlike many of the Austrian
princes, he is active. He took great interest in Morse's invention,
expressed many times his gratification at having seen it and his
admiration of its simplicity and beautiful contrivance. He asked
me if Mr. Morse was a professor of a university ; and when I told
him he had no public employment until lately, and that this was
only a temporary office, he expressed his astonishment that such
ingenious men were not provided for by our Government. He was
really delighted with the Telegraph : he said that such an invention
was more interesting to him than all other machinery, where mat
ter alone is made to produce matter,; but here was an element sub
dued to the will of man, and made the medium of transmitting his
thoughts over land and sea.

" The prince informed me that Baron Kucbeck, the Minister of
Finance, who has this matter to decide, is quite in favor of Morse's
system, and he has promised that all his own influence shall be ex
erted in my behalf to have it adopted.

" Prince Metternich's power and influence are undiminished ; his
decisions require .only the signed envelope of the emperor. His
antechamber is a proof of his power: there you find the ambassa
dors and charges of all nations ; the clerical savants of the pope, in
all their different-colored robes ; the veteran generals of the army ;
the mantled and mustached Hungarian magnates ; the highest
functionaries of the state ; the speculative banker, whose fortune
depends on a single mark of his pen ; the enterprising manufact
urer ; the artist, exhibiting his productions of brush or chisel to
his inspection ; Asiatics, Africans, and Americans,, all are assem
bled, to wait patiently until their names are called out, to be admit
ted before him. But this continual care and responsibility have
worn down his constitution, and in a few more years his course will
be run, and Austria will lose its preserver."

These letters give us a vivid idea of the interest already ex
cited in the heart of Europe by the Morse Telegraph, so early
as the year 1845. Professor Morse continues the history of his
own operations, writing to Mr. Yail :

536

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" LONDON, October 8, 1845.

" I have just reached here on my return from the North of Eu
rope. I went no farther than Hamburg, finding that if I visited

St. Petersburg I should probably be belated in my return to the
United States. I was also influenced in my determination to go no
farther by the improbability, under all circumstances, of accomplish
ing any thing with Russia ; and the probability that in England I
should be able to do something. I know not what the issue of the
present negotiations here may be, but I will say, in brief, that there
is a * General Telegraph Commercial Company ' forming here, with
a capital of six hundred thousand pounds sterling. They are anx
ious to make arrangements with me. I have offered them liberal
terms. One thousand pounds down in cash, and a percentage on
the profits, or, rather, one-fourth part of the savings to the company
from the use of mine over Wheatstone's : that is, if Wheatstone uses
four wires and I use but one, one-fourth of the savings thus made
shall be mine. If Wheatstone ^ives but twenty-four letters per min
ute with four wires, and I can give sixty per minute with one, one-
fourth of the savings thus made is mine, and so on. Should they
accept these terms, the result will be favorable to us in many ways.
I have stipulated that they take out the patent in their own name ;
so that I am at no risk. If one Telegraph can once be successfully
established on a line in England, we command the Continent also,
where electric telegraphs have been established on Wheatstone's
principle, for the best must succeed. Whether we shall derive any
benefit direct from their establishment on the Continent is, perhaps,
a question, since publicity must be so far given to our method that
it will be seized without acknowledgment or reward. There is no
mistake about the superiority of my system. I saw a line of Wheat-
stone's electric telegraph between Haarlem and Amsterdam, ten
miles. It is a single wire, and he uses his ratchet-wheel plan. The
ratchet-wheel is urged forward by the power of the magnet, thus
adopting the basis of my system as the basis of his improvement.
He could not use his improvement in the United States, as it would
conflict with our prior right. I believe I told you in my former let
ter that the number of signals which Wheatstone can give, and
which Mr. Fleischmann says in his letter was fifty or sixty, are not
letters, but parts of a letter. I timed his improved method at Am-

terdam, the other day. The utmost number he could possibly give

twenty four letters in a minute, but ordinarily only fifteen.

Cooke and Wheatstone are aware that I am here, and the latter, I

LETTER TO ARAGO. 537

learn, is quite busy denouncing my system as inferior to theirs — as,
indeed, IMPRACTICABLE and ABSURD! Is not this truly laugh
able ? I shall see what I can do here ; then take a hasty run to
Paris, and be back in season to take one of the steamers of Novem
ber home."

Before he went to Paris, Professor Morse addressed the fol
lowing letter to M. Arago, then the Astronomer Royal :

"LONDON, October 20, 1845.

" DEAR SIR : In Galignani's Messenger, of the 18th instant, I
perceive that the subject of electric telegraphs is before the com
mission of the French Government, who are to decide on the best
system of electric telegraphs for France. You will, doubtless, re
member my visit to you in Paris, in the autumn of 1838, with my
telegraphic system ; and I shall not myself forget the kindness with
which you explained its action at the seance of the Academy on
September 10th of that year. You are, doubtless, aware that my
system is since in successful operation in the United States ; but
you may not be aware of the extent to which it has been projected,
and which . is in process of construction. My time has neces
sarily been directed to the operations for its extension in the
United States, where a line of over thirteen hundred English
miles are under contract, the greater part of which is expected to
be completed before the 1st of January of the coming year. I
should be glad of an opportunity of showing to the commission my
improved instruments, and hope to be in Paris within a fortnight
from date. I am fully persuaded, from a personal examination
of the English system in use here, that- my system is much more
simple in its apparatus, and far more efficient, as well as less expen
sive. Of this, however, I am willing that those naturally less
biased should be the judge. In a note to my friend Mr. Walsh,
United States consul in Paris, I have requested him to send you a
copy of my letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitted by
him to Congress, at the last session, containing some facts in rela
tion to the operation of the telegraphic line belonging to the Gov
ernment, and under my superintendence."

In Paris Professor Morse was kindly received by Arago, to
whom, he was so largely indebted in the year 1838, when he
was, in the same city, a stranger and foreigner, seeking to intro
duce a new invention. Now he came with all the prestige of

538 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

victory. His Telegraph had been tried on a line of forty miles
in length, and had demonstrated its almost miraculous powers.
It was not now begging the favor of governments, but was com
manding the admiration of the world. Arago introduced the
inventor and the invention to the French Chamber of Deputies,
and in its presence Professor Morse exhibited his Telegraph,
November 10, 1845. It received the loudest encomiums of the
Chamber and of the press, as its superiority over all other sys
tems was easily demonstrated. But there was no other induce
ment than a sense of -justice to grant a patent to an American
citizen, whose invention the European nations were at liberty
to employ at their own pleasure, and the disappointed Professor
was obliged to return to his own country, loaded with honor, and
nothing else.

CHAPTEE XIII.
1846-1847.

EXTENSION OF PATENT — THE INVENTOR'S CLAIM— NEW LINES ESTABLISHED —
SIDNEY E. MORSE'S PREDICTIONS — REPORT TO THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL —
ARTISTS' PETITION — LINE BETWEEN BALTIMORE, PHILADELPHIA, AND NEW

YORK — FRENCH CHAMBERS DEBATE — LETTER TO ARAGO — FIRST FRUITS —
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION — PROFESSOR HENRY APPOINTED SECRETARY —
PRINTING-TELEGRAPH — LETTER TO DANIEL LORD — PIRATICAL INVASIONS —
O CE AN-TELEGRAPH.

year 1846 was signalized by the reissue of Morse's pat-
-L ent, in which he defined with great exactness the nature
of his claim. He said in his statement :

" Having fully described my invention, I wish it to be under
stood that I do not claim the use of the galvanic current or cur
rents of electricity for the purpose of telegraphic communication ;
but what I specially claim as my invention and improvement is,
making use of the motive power of magnetism when developed by
the action of such current or currents, as a means of operating or
giving motion to machinery, which may be used to imprint signals
upon paper or other suitable material, or to produce sounds in any
desired manner for the purpose of telegraphic communication.

" The only way in which the galvanic current has heretofore
been proposed to be used is by decomposition, and the action or
exercise of the deflective force of a current upon a magnetized bar
or needle ; and the decompositions and deflections thus produced
were the subject of inspection, and had no power of recording the
communication. I therefore characterize my invention as the first
recording or printing Telegraph,- by means of electro-magnetism.

" There are various known modes of producing motions by elec
tro-magnetism, but none of these have hitherto been applied to ac-

540 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

tuate or give motion to printing or recording machinery, which is
the chief point of my invention and improvement.

" I also claim the system of signs, consisting of dots and lines,
substantially as herein set forth, and illustrated in combination with
telegraph for recording signals.

" I also claim the types and rule in combination with the signal
levers, as herein described, for the purpose of connecting and break
ing the current of galvanism and electricity.

" I also claim, in combination with an electro-magnet used for
telegraphic purposes, the train of clock-work actuated by a weight
or spring, for the purpose of carrying the material on which the
record is to be made, under the registering pen, substantially in the
manner specified.

" I also claim the combination of two or more circuits of gal
vanism or electricity, generated by independent batteries by means
of electro-magnets, as above described.

" In testimony whereof," etc.

Professor Morse was now watching the progress of new
lines of telegraph, gradually extending from city to city. Mr.
Cornell was putting up the wires between New York and Phila
delphia. The great problem, as it was then regarded, of cross
ing the Hudson River, was not satisfactorily solved. On the
10th of January Professor Morse wrote to Mr. Cornell :

" I have just received a letter from Mr. Vail, who is desirous of
having us communicate with him from Newark ; but I shall write
him by to-day's mail that we will try through to Fort Lee, and if
possible to New York. I have written him the following regula
tions : At twelve o'clock on Monday, and the same on Tuesday at

ten o'clock, strike the letter P successively for

five minutes, then rest five minutes, and thus alternately till four
o'clock, unless the desired result is realized. I will strike the letter

Y from New York in the same way, if all is clear

for that purpose at Fort Lee— if not, you will strike the letter . — .
F in the same way from Fort Lee to Philadelphia, and also to me
at New York. It will thus be known at each station whence the
communication comes. If at either station the signals are recog
nized, then add . . . s after each, for example : if at Fort Lee you
get from Philadelphia, p. p., etc, then return f. s— f. s., until it is
recognized.

"THE NATION'S IDOL." 541

" B tt ' •! Platinum plate, and ground at Philadelphia.
( Zinc plate, and ground at New York."

Thus lie was feeling his way along, step by step, with firm
confidence that no insuperable difficulties remained. His friends
the Ellsworths, whose sympathy and aid in Washington during
his struggles with Congress had been so precious, were now re
siding in Indiana. Mrs. Ellsworth wrote to the Professor :
" Oh, might we think you would ever come out into this "West
ern world, how delighted we should be ! We talk daily of you
and the Telegraph., and rejoice with something of a personal
pride in its success. You, my dear friend, stand on a high and
enviable round of the ladder — you are just now the nation's
idol ; but I have no fear of the blighting influence of such fame
on you ; therefore, I pray you be happy in this good that God
permits to you."

u The nation's idol ! " This was the language of warm per
sonal friendship, but it expresses the sentiment of admiration
with which the inventor was at this moment regarded. New
lines of his Telegraph were established from month to month.
Each city, on its first enjoyment of instantaneous communica
tion with the metropolis, was thrilled with joy, and raised its
voice in honor of the genius that had conferred the boon.

The details of business being now in the hands of Mr. Ken
dall, the Professor continued his labors as superintendent of the
United States Telegraph. His brother, Sidney E. Morse, being
in Europe, wrote to him respecting its progress, and, true to the
genius of the family, foreshadowed other inventions, venturing
a prediction to be fulfilled within fifty years. More than half
the time has passed away, and the vision is yet unrealized :

" LONDON, March 3, 1846.

" Your letter of January 30th, with the information of the rapid
progress of the Telegraph in the United States, and the prospect
that it would be profitable property, gave us all much pleasure. It
is of the first importance to you to perfect the plan of writing with
the utmost rapidity, which occupied so much of our thought and
conversation last summer in New York. You then told me, you
recollect, that, while still using only one wire, variety might be given
to the written character by using two or more pens to be acted up
on by batteries and magnets of different strength, the character of

54/> LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOESE.

course being in two or more lines instead of in one line, as at pres
ent. I have thought much of this since, and, in connection with
your saw-teeth type moving in grooves, I am satisfied that you can
at least double, and perhaps treble or quadruple, the number of let
ters you now write in any given time. Perfect and patent this mode
by all means. I can see clearly how the rapidity can be doubled
by this method, but, when it comes to trebling and quadrupling
by means of three or four varieties in the strength of the magnets
and batteries, I see some difficulties. Therefore, to make sure of
the utmost possible rapidity, I should patent the use of four wires
with four pens (one to each wire), marking upon the same paper in
four different parallel lines. With these you can unquestionably
make three hundred and twenty letters in a minute, or more, if you
can make your lever-pen vibrate and distinctly dot upon the paper
more than three hundred and twenty times in a minute. Perhaps,
in practice, two wires and two varieties of strength in the mag
net or battery will be found best. I write in haste, and cannot
explain.

" When we get through with telegraphy and cerography, I
think, among other matters, we may turn our thoughts to the per
fection of submarine navigation. I have some thoughts on this
subject, and will venture to prophesy, that in less than fifty years
submarine voyages will be made across the Atlantic, and that im
provements in submarine navigation will revolutionize the military
and commercial policy of all maritime powers. This is an American
invention— Bushnell, of Connecticut, being, I believe, the first who
experimented to any effect in this way."

Li a communication to the Postmaster-General, the Professor
now gave some facts to show the claims which the Telegraph
had upon the Government, and the satisfactory results thus far
secured :

" In paying over to the Department the receipts of the Tele
graph-offices at Washington and Baltimore for the last quarter
(which were only $203.43), ending 31st of March, 1846, 1 have the
honor of presenting to the Department a few considerations in rela
tion to the Telegraph generally.

"The line now belonging to the Government is but the experi-

tental line authorized by the act of Congress of March 3, 1843, the

principal design of which was to test the * practicability and utility '

my system of Electro-Magnetic Telegraphs. The first quality, its

INCREASE OF BUSINESS. 543

e practicability,' was proved when the first communication was made
by means of its conductors, from Washington to Baltimore. Its
' utility ' required a longer probationary period, and circumstances
have arisen which I think will require yet further time satisfactorily
to test this point in the experiment. Already, indeed, numerous
cases have almost daily occurred, which have demonstrated this
quality within the limited extent of forty miles, perhaps enough, in
the minds cf the thinking, to foreshadow its vast increase as the
lines become more and more extended. The revenue to be derived
from the use of the Telegraph is by no means the only criterion to
judge of its utility. From the character of many of the thousands of
messages already transmitted, when the rapidity of transmitting in
telligence has been essential often to the security of property of great
amounts, directly and indirectly, and to the convenience of business
of all kinds, can be derived a powerful argument for its public util
ity, when more extensively established. It will be gratifying, how
ever, to know that, merely in point of revenue, the receipts of the
last quarter have been one fourth greater than those of the previous
quarter, and I am sanguine in the belief that when the great lines
(now nearly completed by private companies), extending from the
lakes to Boston, and from Boston to this city, shall be connected at
Baltimore with the Government line, the increase of telegraph busi
ness thus brought to Baltimore will increase the revenue far beyond
the expenses necessary to sustain it.

" By a reference to the statement of the total receipts for the
year ending 31st of March, 1846, it will be seen that there has
been a regular increase of the business of the office from the first to
the last quarter, and the last month has produced the largest amount
of any month in the year. If there is this regular increase without
any influence from lines beyond Baltimore, is it not reasonable to
expect a vastly greater increase when the business of Philadelphia,
New York, and Boston, shall be brought to Baltimore ? At any
rate, would it be policy, in this stage of the progress of the Tele
graph, to stop the Government Telegraph at the moment when
these other lines are about to be connected with it ?

" The experience we have had upon the Utica and Albany line,
and the Philadelphia and New York line, with all the temporary
disadvantages of comparatively inexperienced operators (who are,
however, daily becoming more expert), and some physical obstacles
temporarily encountered, shows that, in point of revenue, the Tele
graph will undoubtedly realize the expectations of those who. have

544 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

engaged in the enterprise. The receipts of a single day have
amounted to $38.85 on the latter line, and this while laboring under
the disadvantages of crossing the Hudson River with the messages

in boats.

' "In regard to the state of the telegraph-line, an inspection of
the daily receipts for the last three quarters (nine months) shows
that not a minute during that time has the line been so out of
repair as to prevent its use for correspondence. It has been in
working order at any moment, showing, among other things, that
the danger which many have apprehended of wanton or other injury
to the conducting wires, is unfounded ; and, in this connection, I
would beg leave to correct, once for all, most of the erroneous state
ments of some of the newspapers, in attributing the breaking of the
conductors on the new lines to design. In nine cases out of ten
the breaks are attributable to defective wire, and to unforeseen, or
rather unprovided-for, effects of frost and sleet upon the conductors.
As far as my observation goes, the telegraphic conductors are pro
tected by the favorable feelings of the people ; for one instance,
where any local cause of unfriendly feeling has resulted in in
jury to the line, there are five where accident has been kindly rem
edied by casual passers-by, and information given in .the proper
quarter of the place and nature of the injury.

" During the last year, I made a rapid tour in England, Holland,
and France, mainly for the purpose of personally ascertaining
whether any system of Electric Telegraphs, recently adopted there,
possessed any advantages over mine. I think I may say, without
a boast, that mine is palpably superior to any as yet devised. The
recent adoption of my system by the Austrian Government, and,
after a careful examination of all the European systems, may be
cited as corroborative of my opinion. For a detailed description of
the differences between mine and the English and French systems,
I beg to refer to my letter to the Commissioner of Patents, in his
forthcoming report, printing by order of Congress.

" Should Congress deem it expedient to sustain for another year
the telegraph-line between Baltimore and Washington, I would
suggest the expediency of increasing the number of messengers at
the Washington terminus, and imposing a small additional charge
for the delivery of messages within certain limits. I would also
suggest that the Telegraph be made available at all times, day and
night, and that a relief of two or more operators should be em
ployed to give a constant attendance in the offices. I have reason

PETITION OF THE ARTISTS. 545

to believe that the increase of revenue consequent on such an ar
rangement will more than defray the additional expense."

His old friends the artists, determined to win him back
from his wires to his studio and pencil, rallied in force and laid
before Congress a petition that Professor Morse be employed to
execute the painting to fill the panel in the Rotunda of the Cap
itol assigned to Mr. Inman, who had been removed by death.
The memorial was signed by A. B. Durand, President National
Academy of Design, Thomas S. Cummings, Jno. G. Chapman,
Jno. L. Morton, F. W. Edmonds, G. C. Yerplanck, J. F. E.
Prudhomme, Jona. Goodhue, P. Perit, Philip Hone, Frederick
R. Spencer, Alfred Jones, James Harper, Chas. C. Ingham, V.
P. K A., S. DeWitt Bloodgood, R. Watts, Jr., M. D., Professor
of Anatomy, Regis Giejewus, Jasper F. Cropsey, Chas. L. Elliott,
Jas. J. Mapes, Jas. Renwick, Clinton Roosevelt, Geo. P. Morris,
and Henry C. Shumway. But it came to nothing. " There's
a divinity that shapes our ends," and Morse was never to take
his brush in hand again.

The first money that he received, in any way, as the avails of
his invention of the Telegraph, was the sum of forty-five dollars,
being his share of the amount paid for the right to use his patent
on a short line from the Post-Office in Washington City to the
National Observatory. The use he made of this money was
characteristic of the man. To the Rev. Dr. Sprole, then a pastor
in Washington, and afterward chaplain of the Military Academy
at West Pointj he sent fifty dollars, requesting him to apply it
to the benefit of the church. Dr. Sprole says that he added fifty
dollars as a personal gift to himself.

June 8, 1846, Professor Morse received from the Controller
of the Treasury of the United States, J. W. M. Cullough, a
letter stating that his accounts were adjusted. This letter is in
dorsed "final adjustment closing the books of the Treasury,
and settling all my accounts with the Treasury of the United
States, in relation to the thirty thousand dollars appropriation
for testing the Telegraph."

Early in June, the line from Baltimore to Philadelphia was
in operation, Philadelphia and New York being already united
by the same tie. Mr. Henry O'Rielly, to whose indefatigable
35

646 LIFE OF SAMUEL R B. MORSE.

energy and enterprise the public was largely indebted for the
success of the undertaking, sent the following dispatch to Pro
fessor Morse in Washington :

"Philadelphia, June 5, 1846, 10 A.M.— Mr. H. O'Rielly congrat
ulates Professor Morse on the completion of the Telegraph, and on
the connection of the Hudson and Potomac by links of lightning."

In five minutes after, the following was received in Phila
delphia :

" Washington, June 5, 1846, A. M. — Professor Morse congrat
ulates Mr. O'Rielly on the success of his labors."

Communications were sent backward and forward. After a
full test had been made between Baltimore and Philadelphia,
the wires were connected with the "Washington line, and a num
ber of uninterrupted communications made directly with the
same impulse between those two cities.

While these extensions were going on with great rapidity,
Professor Morse's time was largely occupied by correspondence
with those who made inquiries respecting his invention, or
sought his aid in perfecting their own^ The number of men
was great who desired his personal examination of their inven
tions, and his commendation, that they might, under the auspices
of so successful an inventor, secure public attention. To the end
of his life, this was one of the most irksome offices which were
thrust upon him. His natural kindness and intense dislike of
giving pain to others, inclined him to permit these applications to
be made, and to yield to them as much consideration as he could
with any propriety afford. Some of these schemes were, on their
face, absurd, and some of them ridiculous, but perhaps no one of
them would appear more preposterous than his own when first
proposed. As he remembered, with a chill, the coldness and un
belief with which his own scheme was received, he was the more
disposed to listen favorably to the conceptions of others. One
man requests him to examine a writing-machine, another a fly
ing-machine ; another begs his attention* to a caloric-engine, a
steam-boiler improvement, or a cable-stopper. Some propose
Telegraphs to supersede his own, and kindly offer him an inter
est in their inventions. To them all he had a kind word, but

OTHER TELEGRAPHS. 547

few of them are known to have been successful. One of these
letters reads :

"BOSTON, March 18, 1846.

" I too have invented a Telegraph, so far as to have an idea of
it ; and, though I have made no experiments, I am very confident of
its practicability. To put it in operation I want none of your light
ning, and can do very well without your apparatus for writing, but
not so well as with it. Its operation, I think, cannot be quite so rapid
as yours ; but the difference will be too small to be very important.
In some situations yours will be decidedly the best ; in most, it will
be at least as good ; and in some, I think mine will have the advan
tage. I can go through the air, but shall usually prefer to go under
ground ; and, except some additional expense of construction, I care
nothing for swamps and rivers. In the expense of first construction,
there will probably be no very great difference, though I have made
no estimates. The expense of working mine will probably be less
than yours. If mine should ever go into operation, it ought to be
in connection with yours, as parts of one system, using for each
line and part of a line the plan best adapted to that particular
locality."

Nothing ever came of the proposition, but almost at the
same time a learned professor of one of the colleges of New
England wrote to Professor Morse of an invention for carrying
the lines of telegraph-wire across rivers. His plan was in all
respects worthy of a man of science, and received the attention
it merited. He wrote to Professor Morse :

" The principle of it is as simple as A, B, C. This is ordinarily
deemed a recommendation. However, it is very possible that in the
multitude of your thoughts and experiments you may find something
closely resembling my idea — I do not know that you will— for
nothing is more common than for one man to run close to an idea
which, after all, does not come out till years afterward in the original
conceptions of some other man."

To this letter Professor Morse replied, and in answer received
a very extended communication, with drawings, which he care
fully examined and reported upon, as if he had nothing else
to do.

Abroad the system was working its way steadily into gen
eral-favor. Prejudice yielded gradually to the resistless power

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

of self-interest. The cheapest and best mode was sure to secure
the palm. In the month of June, 1846, in the French Cham
ber of Deputies, upon a proposed appropriation for an Electrical
Telegraph, the eminent statesman, M. Berrjer, opposed it, on
the ground that the experiment of the new system was not com
plete. The French Government were then trying experiments
with Electrical Telegraphs (not Morse's), but were not success
ful. Two years after Morse's Telegraph was successfully estab
lished and in daily use in this country, there was no reliable
Electric Telegraph in France. This opposition of M. Berry er
was met by M. Arago, who rose and said :

" The experiment is consummated. In the United States the
matter is settled. I received three days ago the Sun of Baltimore,
accompanying a letter from Mr. Morse, one of the most honorable
men of his country ; and here is the President's message printed
from the Telegraph in two or three hours. The message would
fill four columns of the Moniteur. It could not have been copied
by the most rapid penman in a shorter time than it was trans
mitted."

The appropriation of nearly half a million francs was passed
with but few dissentient voices. While the French Govern
ment was introducing and employing the Morse system, an in
genious Frenchman, M. Brequet, was very innocently- proposing
to make use of Morse's mechanism to operate a telegraph which
he hoped to call his own. M. Brequet had taken a deep interest
in the Morse Telegraph, and had been using it on the line be
tween Paris and Rouen. He was in correspondence with Pro
fessor Morse, and to him the Professor was in the habit of com
municating freely the progress of his system. April 20, 1846,
Professor Morse wrote to him :

"I know not if you get information through the American papers
of the progress of my Telegraph. I have every reason to be grati
fied with its success. A few weeks more, and Boston, New York,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, will be connected, 428
miles, and also New York, Albany, and Buffalo, 433 miles ; these
main lines extend 861 miles. There are beside these main lines
many branch lines of 30 or 40 miles each. I have not much of im
portance to communicate in relation to the action of the Telegraph ;

MORSE TO ARAGO. 549

I have always preferred to underrate rather than overrate its effi
ciency ; I have already shown before the Academy of Sciences a tele
graphic communication in which 50 characters or signs were given in
one minute. I inclose you one written in the same time, of 85 char
acters, and I have several operators who perform at that rate. I
have one in which 94 characters are distinctly written in one
minute. The power of battery which I require is very small. I
tried in one instance a battery of two elements (two cups of my ar
rangement such as are described in the book I sent you), and
operated the Telegraph a distance of 130 miles with perfect suc
cess. One pair has operated well 40 miles, and with a plate of zinc
in the ground at one extremity, and a plate of copper in the ground
at the other, I have operated the Telegraph well. I shall be much
obliged to you for any drawings and specifications illustrative of the
system you have in operation between Paris and Rouen, and for any
information on the general subject of Telegraphs which you may
think of interest to me."

Upon the receipt of M. Brequet's answer, Professor Morse
wrote to Arago :

" MY DEAR SIR : By the English steamer Caledonia, which takes
this, I also send a small packet containing cuttings from newspa
pers, to illustrate the practical effect as well as efficiency of my sys
tem of Magnetic Telegraphs. You will perceive the same date and
the same news in all these extracts, from newspapers published in
cities at the distance of hundreds of miles from each other. By
reference to a map, the ••place at which each journal is published
will be easily recognized. The Cambria steamer arrives in Boston
on September 18th. Her news, in the minutest details, is at once
transmitted along the telegraphic lines, ready for publication the
next morning (the 19th) in the next papers that are issued in
the various cities. I thought I could not give you a better tangible
proof of the success of my system. ' I received from the ingenious
M. Brequet a letter by the last steamer, in which he relates to me
his manner of overcoming the difficulty in obtaining magnetic force
at a distance sufficient to impress paper.

" The method he proposes is precisely the method I have always
had in operation, and which was devised and ready for use from
the earliest stages of my invention, and by which I have accom
plished all my results. I allude to the use of my first battery and
magnet, to break and close the circuit of a second magnet, where

550 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

the first magnet, in consequence of the length of the circuit connect
ing it with the distant battery, has but a feeble magnetism, yet is
sufficient to produce a feeble motion. Power can be obtained to
any extent by means of the size of the magnet and battery.

" This mode, as I have said, was early devised to obviate a sup
posed and anticipated difficulty, long before experiments demon
strated its necessity.

"In my ' Brevet d"* Invention? dated Paris, August 18,1838,
which is of course recorded in Paris, this mode of interposing a sec
ond battery and magnet for the purpose of obviating the difficulty
which might arise from the enfeebling of the magnetism at a dis
tance, is fully set forth with a diagram. It has been practically
applied by me from the commencement of my telegraphic opera
tions, and I have always considered it essential to the effective re
sult of my system. I give to the magnet, which is operated from a
distance, the name of receiving magnet, because it receives its im
pulse from the main battery, and it is used to break and close what
I call the local battery, which battery operates the magnet of the
register. In the hope that a decision in favor of my system would
soon be given by the commissioners of the Academy of Science and
* Chambers,' and a more complete detail of my arrangements called
for, I took with me to Paris, when I had the pleasure of seeing you,
one of these receiving magnets. I deposited it in the consulate of
the United States, in Paris, that it might be ready when called for.
It is still there, and I have requested my friend, R. Walsh, Esq.,
the consul, to unseal it and show it whenever desired. The mag
net in his possession is a modification, by Professor Page, of my
original one, which, though efficient, was too cumbersome to suit
my taste. I have it now reduced to a very small size, and I may
here remark that, although the wire of the helices of these receiv
ing magnets is so much smaller than the wire of the main conduct
ors (No. 15), and although a magnet with two helices of this kind
is interposed at each of the following eleven places along the line,
to wit, New York, Poughkeepsie, Troy, Albany, Schenectady, Uti-
ca, Rome, Syracuse, Auburn, Rochester, Buffalo, yet the magnetic
power of the electrical current seems not to be diminished ; each
and all act simultaneously, and act efficiently. I still look with
anxiety for the decision of the question, c Whose system will be
adopted by the French Government ? ' The practical results of the
Telegraph in this country have realized my most sanguine expecta
tions, and I have every reason to .believe that the next session of

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 55!

our Congress will not pass by without some decision on the subject.
" With the highest respect, your most obedient servant,

" SAMUEL F. B. MORSE."

PROFESSOR HENRY.

The Smithsonian Institution at Washington was founded on
the acceptance by the Government of the United States of a do
nation by a gentleman in England, whose name, Smithson, was
perpetuated in the name of the institution. The trustees, ap
pointed by Congress, well knowing that its success and useful
ness would depend mainly upon the man whom they should
select as the secretary, who was also to be their presiding officer,
adopted the following resolution :

" Resolved, That it is essential for the advancement of the
proper interests of the trust that the Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution be a man possessing weight of character and a high
grade of talent ; and that it is further desirable that he possess emi
nent scientific and general acquirements ; that he be a man capable
of advancing science and promoting letters by original research and
effort, well qualified to act as a respectable channel of communica
tion between the Institution and scientific and literary individuals
and societies in this and foreign countries ; and, in a word, a man
worthy to represent, before the world of science and of letters, the
Institution over which this Board presides."

Professor Morse, being in Washington at the time of the
election, communicated the result to the New York Observer ',
in the following letter :

" WASHINGTON, December 3, 1846.

" As there is a well-founded anxiety in regard to the character
which the new national institution — the Smithsonian — is to as
sume, I am sure it will gratify you, as well as the friends of science
throughout the country, to learn that this day the trustees have
unanimously elected Professor Joseph Henry, of Nassau Hall, as
the Secretary of the Institution. By this choice to the most
responsible, and, I may say, the highest, scientific post in the
country, the trustees have but given utterance to the universal
voice of the scientific world. The trustees deserve the thanks
of the community for their impartiality, and the judiciousness of
their selection. I fear not the arousing of any jealousy in his con-

552

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

temporaries, when I assert that no man in the country has all the
qualifications for this high trust in a greater degree than Professor
Henry. The fear has been expressed that he may not accept the
office, for there have been no seekings on his part ; it has been an
election where merit has shown forth preeminently above all the
common and much-abused forms of recommendation, and asserted
its own inherent right to preferment ; it is a case where native no
bility of mind has commanded the willing homage of kindred minds.
I trust that Professor Henry will accept the office. M."

More than a quarter of a century has elapsed since the ap
pointment thus announced by Professor Morse was made. The
result has justified the wisdom of the trustees and Professor
Morse's opinion expressed in this letter. For Ms own personal
contributions to useful knowledge ; for patient, persevering,
and successful pursuit of science by experiment, research, and
original thought ; for the power of analysis, and of reducing to
order and available use the contributions which lie has called
forth from others, in wielding the resources and instrumental
ities of the Institution of which he has been the chief, Professor
Henry has won the appreciating homage of the world of science.
Professor Morse well said twenty-eight years ago that the choice
of Professor Henry was "the voice of the scientific world," and
it is still the same.

THE PRINTING-TELEGRAPH.

Professor Morse was now quietly pursuing his work of super
intending and improving his invention. He mentions in a
letter (December 15, 1846) his views upon printing-telegraphs :

" I noticed an announcement in the papers, that I had recently
made ' some improvements in my Telegraph for which I had entered
a caveat at the Patent-Office.' It is true that I am taking measures
to secure by patent some recent modifications of my telegraphic
apparatus, simplifying the printing of my telegraphic alphabet;
my experiments on that point have been satisfactory. It is true,
also, that I have applied a fact in electro-magnetism (never to my
knowledge before applied) in the construction of an apparatus for
printing the common letter of the alphabet, and I have devised an
apparatus of the greatest simplicity.

" But, simple as it is, incomparably more so than any contrivance

MORSE'S PRINTING-TELEGRAPH. 553

for that purpose as yet published, I really do not attach any great
importance to it, for the reason that it is mathematically demon
strable that, from the very nature of such a contrivance, it cannot

* * i

successfully compete in the rapidity of recording intelligence with
the simple mode I have in use, and which is a consequence mainly
of the intention of my telegraphic alphabet. For example, the
President's message, entire, on the subject of the war with Mexico,
was transmitted with perfect accuracy [exclusively for and at the
expense of the Baltimore Sun\ at the rate of 99 letters per minute.
My skillful operators in Washington and Baltimore have printed
these characters at the rate of 98, 101, 111, and one of them act
ually printed 117 letters per minute, and I have little doubt that
the accomplished operators in the Philadelphia office could easily
show similar results. He must be an expert penman who can write
legibly more than 100 letters per minute; consequently, my mode
of communication equals, or nearly equals, the most expeditious
mode known of recording thought.

" A Rochester paper recently contained a paragraph, which has
been extensively copied, to the effect that there was a new inven
tion about to appear, which was to ' impress every letter perfectly
distinct on paper,' and, ' of course] do away with the characters to
represent the alphabet. This effect of any such invention is by no
means such a matter of course as the writer supposes. Allow me
a word on that point.

"My very earliest conception of the Telegraph embodied this
idea, to wit : ' The marking, in a permanent manner, of a charac
ter, to denote the intelligence transmitted.' It was certainly very
natural, then, that the marking of the common letter of the alpha
bet should be suggested to my mind, and I of course expended suf-
cient thought upon the subject to perceive that it was practicable
in several ways, but also that any way (at that time) was necessa
rily complicated. I was intent on simplicity, and adopted my pres
ent system because of its simplicity and greater efficiency.

" My friend and co-proprietor in the Telegraph, Mr. Vail, some
time in the spring of 1837, was intent on producing an instrument
of this kind, and gave the project much thought. I uniformly dis
couraged him, however, on the ground, not that such a plan was
impracticable, but, in comparison with the method I had devised,
worthless, since, were such a mode perfectly accomplished and in
actual use, my more simple mode would inevitably supersede the
more complicated mode. Mr. Vail, in his work entitled 'The

554

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

American Electro-Magnetic Telegraph,' discusses the whole matter
from pages 157 to 171. Experience has proyed that when my sys
tem has*been put to the test in competition with the common letter-
printing telegraphs in Europe, mine has been proved superior. In
Viem*, for example, Mr. Bain's letter-printing telegraph (the most
ingenious as yet published) was examined with mine publicly be
fore one of the largest and most learned assemblies ever convened
in that capital, comprising the court and notables of Austria, and
the American Telegraph carried the day by acclamation, and is
now adopted by that Government.

" I wish it distinctly understood, therefore, that my recent in
vention of an apparatus for printing the common Roman letter was
not induced by any expectation that it will supersede my present
plan, but solely to give the choice to any (if there are any) who,
after all the evidence which has long been published of the intrin
sic unimportance of such a result, may be desirous of seeing the
common Roman letter printed, instead of my simple character sig
nifying the same thing. I accomplish this result by means of an
apparatus very far less complicated than any yet published here or
in Europe."

This was only tn"e beginning of the trials that disturbed his
peace, and made many subsequent years of his life almost in
cessant war. Attempts to use his invention in whole or in
part, by rival and opposing parties, to deprive him of the honor
and the profit which were justly his, and to destroy his property
and his good name, were powerful, persistent, and often malig
nant. "Whatever could be done was done by the use of wealth,
in the employment of legal talent and learning of the highest
order, and of scientific experts, to invalidate his claims to origi
nality in the invention and construction of the Electro-Magnetic
Telegraph. The annals of litigation furnish no example of
greater energy, perseverance, and failure of effort to wrest from
the hands of a deserving, modest, and successful inventor the
fruits of a work that had cost him long years of toil, and had
at last conferred unspeakable blessings upon the world.

His brother, Sidney E. Morse, being in London, wrote to the
Professor, February 3, 1847 : " In a little time your Telegraph
will be introduced here, but the people will be made to believe
that it is an English invention, and that the Americans copied

PIRATICAL INVASIONS. 555

it." The prediction was fulfilled. England is the last of the
countries . to admit the claims of Morse and America to the
honor of the invention. And to this day, although the Morse
system has gradually been adopted from the manifested evi
dences of its superiority, the power of prejudice is so great that
on many lines the Wheatstone Telegraph is employed. But the
verdict of the world has long since been pronounced, and the
Morse system is without a formidable rival.

Not a month passed without an attempt being made in some
way to turn the new invention to account for the advantage of
others, and the injury of the inventor. To one who had actually
gone into the business of manufacturing the instrument, Pro
fessor Morse wrote this very gentle but decided remonstrance
and warning :

" I have just seen an instrument of my patent made by you and
numbered 15, with your name upon it, in the hands of one who in
formed me that he purchased it of you. Are you not aware that
you are infringing on my patent ? 1 have learned also that you are
making some other instruments for other persons. I regret exceed
ingly this state of things, but you must see that, if continued, you
are incurring a very heavy responsibility, for the patentees (if the
others become acquainted with these facts) will most assuredly pro
ceed against you. I am personally disposed to l^e lenient to unin
tentional errors in this respect, and now write to learn from you
the true state of matters, that if possible any evil consequences to
yourself may be averted. A moment's reflection will convince you
of the irregularity of your proceeding, if you are making them with
out authority of the patentees. If you desire to make the tele
graphic instruments, you must have some understanding with the
patentees."

Such violations of his rights were only the beginning of
troubles. More formidable enemies rose to meet him. To
Daniel Lord, Esq., his legal counsel, Professor Morse gave ex
pression to his private griefs over the persecutions to which he
and his invention were subjected :

" The plot thickens all around me ; I think a dknottment not
far off. I remember your consoling me under these attacks with
bidding me think that I had invented something wrorth contending
for. Alas ! my dear sir, what encouragement is there to an inventor,

556

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

if, after years of toil and anxiety, he has only purchased for himself
the pleasure of being a target for every vile fellow to shoot at, and
in proportion as his invention is of public utility so much the greater
effort is to be made to defame, that the robbery may excite the less
sympathy ? I know, however, that beyond all this there is a clear
sky, but the clouds may not break away till I am no longer personally
interested whether it be foul or fair. T wish not to complain, but I
have feelings, and cannot play the stoic if I would."

THE OCEAN-TELEGRAPH.

In the early part of this year Professor Morse revived in con
versation his early idea of an ocean-Telegraph to connect the
Old World with the New. B. F. Hall, Esq., of Auburn, K Y.,
wrote to him to say that " Captain George B. Chase, of Auburn,
who has navigated the ocean for many years, has hit upon a
plan that appears to be, and which lie and others who know
what it is are confident is, FEASIBLE ; that it will protect the wire
from vessels, icebergs, and other obstructions, and at the same
time be permanent and cheap. If you will confer with him, it
is believed that his nautical information and experience will
enable him to be of service to you in the stupendous plan of
tying together the continents." Professor Morse replied that
he was not at present engaging in the project, but had it before
him for future action, and would be glad to see Captain Chase
on the subject. As the conception of the ocean-line was Pro
fessor Morse's, and was suggested by him in his early letters on
the subject of the Telegraph, lie never lost sight of it, and lived
to see it successfully accomplished.

OHAPTEE XIY.

RIVAL CLAIMS AND LAWSUITS.
INVASION OF PATENT-EIGHT — o'EIELLY CONTEAOT — INJUNCTION — LAWSUIT

IN DISTEIOT COTJET OF KENTUCKY — DECISION — MOESE PATENT SUSTAINED
— INCIDENTS OF THE TEIAL — DISTINGUISHED MEN ENGAGED — JUDGE PIE-
TLE'S EPIGRAM — THE CASE APPEALED — SUPEEME COUET OF THE UNITED
STATES SUSTAINS THE MOESE PATENT — OPINION — FEENCH AND BOGEKS
CASE — JUDGE KANE'S OPINION — SUSTAINS MOESE PATENT — HOUSE'S AND
BAIN'S INSTRUMENTS — DE. JACKSON'S PEETENSIONS — INPEOVEMENTS IN
THE TELEGEAPHIO IN8TEUMENT — EXTENT AND VALUE OF THE TELEGEAPH
BUSINESS — MOESE INSTEUMENTS COMPAEED WITH OTHEES — WESTEEN

UNION TELEGEAPH COMPANY WILLIAM OETON — GEOEGE B. PEESCOTT —

THE WOELD'S VERDICT — ONLY ONE SYSTEM, THAT OF MOESE.

THE most painful chapter in the life of Mr. Morse is the
history of the lawsuits in which he was involved in defense
of his rights. Having intrusted his business interests to the
hands of Mr. Kendall, he would gladly have left the details,
with the burdens of anxiety and responsibility, to his agent and
attorney. But this was not in human nature. No one could
relieve him of the care caused by assaults upon his reputation
as well as his property. Exceedingly sensitive to these attacks
upon his good name and his rights, the lawsuits that followed
the success of his Telegraph cost him inexpressible distress. It
was some compensation for his sufferings that he was tri
umphant. His rights were established by the most learned and
impartial legal tribunals to which they could be submitted, and
by the higher test of practical adoption and use throughout the
world !

The first lawsuit had this origin. Professor Morse and his
partners made a contract, J[une 13, 1845, with Henry O'Eielly,

558

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

under wliicli the latter was to construct a line of Telegraph, to
be operated with the Morse instrument, from Philadelphia to
St. Louis, and to the chief towns on the gr6at Western lakes.
Nothing in the contract permitted the use of the Morse patent
on any other line than those mentioned. The line was com
pleted to St. Louis in December, 1847. The Morse owners then
contracted with Colonel T. P. Shaffner and William Tanner to
construct a line of Telegraph from Louisville, Kentucky, to
Nashville, Tennessee, to be a section of a line to New Orleans.
O'Kielly commenced and pushed on a line in the same direction,
without authority in his contract. Immediately a struggle be
gan between the Shaffner Company and O'Kielly in a race for
New Orleans. The O'Kielly, called the People's Line, was com
pleted to Nashville in February, 1848. A telegraphic instru
ment, named the Columbian Telegraph, and claimed to be another
instrument than Morse's, was adopted by the O'Kielly Company.
The equivalent for the relay-magnet of Morse was a series of
electro-magnetic multipliers, each being composed of a magnetic
needle delicately suspended, and placed within a longitudinal
coil of copper wire, covered with silk thread. In this arrange
ment, the needle is extremely sensitive to the least current trans
mitted through the coil. The wire, passing many times above
and below the needle, tends to move its poles with the united
influence of the whole, and in the same direction ; so that the
effect of a single wire becomes multiplied in nearly the propor
tion of the number of times the coil passes above and below the
needle. A needle thus circumstanced, with a divided circle to
measure the angle of deviation, constitutes an instrument termed
a galvanometer, or, as it was first termed, electro-magnetic mul
tiplier. Faraday, by means of a delicate instrument of this
kind, succeeded in identifying common and voltaic electricity
as a source of electro-magnetic action. The application of this
instrument as a part of the Columbian proved defective. The
imitator was then introduced in its place, to perform the func
tions of a relay-magnet.

The public mind was excited with apprehension that the
Morse Company was to be a gigantic monopoly, oppressive and
dangerous, and the cry was raised that the People's Line was to
be the protection of the people's rights. Then it was alleged

DR. PAGE'S DISCLAIMER. 559

that the Telegraph itself was not Morse's, but the invention of
STEINHEIL, of Bavaria, and PAGE, of the Patent-Office, at "Wash
ington. The former had employed the electro-magnet ; and it
was asserted that Dr. Page invented the receiving-magnet, es
sential to the success of Morse's instrument. Hon. Amos Ken
dall addressed a letter of inquiry to Dr. Page on this point, and
received the following answer, which refutes the assertion re
specting the claims of Dr. Page.1

"WASHINGTON, D. C., February 22, 1848.
" Hon. Amos Kendall —

" SIR : In reply to your inquiry if I laid any claim to the inven
tion of the receiving-magnet used in Morse's Telegraph, I will state
briefly that I have never claimed that invention publicly or pri
vately, directly or indirectly. Yours respectfully,

"CHAKLES G. PAGE."

As the attempt had been persistently made to attribute to
another the merit of this vital part of the Morse Telegraph, the
letter of Dr. Page, the original of which is preserved, put the
question at rest during his lifetime. His important contribu
tions to the art and science of magneto-electricity are set* forth
in his work, " The American Claim to the Induction-coil and its
Electro-static Developments." In 1843 he applied to Congress
for leave to take out a patent for his improvements, but he was
debarred by law, being an officer in the Patent-Office. After
his death a law securing his claims by patent to his heirs was
passed. But this attack upon Morse's rights, which was made
in the Western newspapers, though speedily answered by publi
cation of the facts, was now followed by the actual construction
of a line of Telegraph in defiance of the patent secured. Argu
ment, evidence, appeals to the public sense of justice, had no
effect. Morse's patent was denounced as a " remorseless monop
oly " which must be put down by the popular will. Nothing
was left to the owners but an appeal to the courts of law. With
great reluctance, they applied for an injunction against the
O'Rielly line. This brought to judicial inquiry the claim of
Professor Morse to be the original inventor of the Electro-Mag
netic Telegraph, and also the question whether the Columbian

1 For a similar disclaimer by Steinheil, see page 687.

56Q LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Telegraph was an infringement of the Morse patent. The trial
commenced in Louisville, Kentucky, August M, 1848, and con
tinued sixteen days. The preparation for this trial involved the
most expensive and protracted labor. Men, eminent in science,
in distant parts of the country, were examined at great length,
and their testimony, filling large volumes, is on record and easily
accessible to those who desire to make themselves acquainted
with it.1 All systems of telegraphy employed in Europe pre
vious to Morse's were investigated by those competent to form
an intelligent opinion. The ingenuity of the most learned
counsel was exhausted in the effort to show that the Morse in
strument was not original with its inventor.

The parties present were, Hon. Thomas B. Monroe, presid
ing judge ; Professor Morse, Amos Kendall ; for counsel, Pres
ton S. Loughborough, of Louisville, ex-Judge Benjamin Mon
roe, of Frankfort (brother of the judge on the bench), ex- Judge
Woolley, of Lexington, and Colonel Shaffner, on the Morse
side. On the other were H. O'Kielly, ex-Judge Henry Pirtle,
of Louisville, Madison C. Johnson, of Lexington, and D. Y.
Gholson, of Cincinnati. O'Kielly had, as experts, E. F. Barnes
and Anson Stager. Colonel Shaffner afterward became dis
tinguished for his gigantic enterprises in the extension of the
telegraphic system in this country and in Europe, and is the
author of the most valuable works which are used in the study
of the art and science of telegraphy. He has related to the
writer the incidents of this great Kentucky trial :

" All the parties not residing in Frankfort stopped at the Wei-
si^er House. They mingled at all times as at a social meeting.
After adjournment of the court, the counsel and others generally
met in front of the hotel, and, sitting beneath the shade-trees, gave
reciprocal intellectual entertainments. Jefferson Davis was visiting
his friends in Kentucky, and, fresh from the Mexican War, he enter
tained the company much of the time, in his turn, with the most
exciting descriptions of the incidents of the war. Woolley was a

1 Mr. Henry O'Rielly has deposited in the Library of the New York Historical
Society more than one hundred volumes, containing a complete history of tele
graphic litigatio^ in the United States. These records are at all times accessible to
any persons who wish to investigate the claims and rights of individuals or compa
nies. The testimony alone in the various suits fills several volumes each as large
as this.

REMINISCENCES. 5G1

lolar of rare merits, and his fluency in conversation seemed en
chanting. Loughborough, one of the oldest lawyers in Kentucky,
was mathematical, and often proposed problems for solution. Ken
dall gave incidents of the Kitchen Cabinet of Jackson, and the part
he occasionally performed. One of them had reference to Duane,
of the cabinet. Jackson wanted Taney to be Secretary of the
Treasury, but was not sure of his opinions. Kendall was author
ized to ascertain, and he reported that they were in accord with the
President's. Kendall was then sent to request Taney to accept of
the secretaryship of the Treasury, and in answer he said to Mr. Ken
dall : ' You can say to the President that I will accept of the po
sition, but, in doing so, I sacrifice and abandon the ambition of my
life, and that is to be on the Supreme Court bench.' The new po
sition placed him in political line, and off from the legal, as then
considered. Marshall subsequently died, and Taney was appointed
by Jackson in his place, which exceeded his expectations and am
bition. Taney told me of the circumstance in 1853. Pirtle gener
ally indulged in references to the early settlement of Kentucky.
He was the senior of all, and knew in his early days its founders.
Johnson was familiar with the judicial history of the State, and
well acquainted with many of the early statesmen. Gholson was
a young man and very quiet — a Virginian of Cincinnati associa
tion, and not so open as Kentuckians. He measured his words.
Morse engaged their attention in the early invention of the Tel
egraph, his meeting with Arago, Humboldt, and his acquaintance
with West (the artist), and his invention of the use of colors to
represent temperature.

'£ As for myself, I was a silent listener, capable only of studying
the pending suit, and listening to the conversations of those great
men. Besides the above, Governor Charles S. Morehead, John J.
Crittenden, Rev. Robert J. Breckenridge, 'Tom' Marshall, Hon.
W. J. Graves (of the Cilley duel), ex-Governor Metcalf, ex-Governor
Letcher, and many others, from time to time joined the sidewalk
sociables.

" The Morse line alone connected Louisville and Frankfort, and
I gave directions to the officers to transmit free all dispatches
handed in by O'Rielly and his friends, and I requested him to use
the lines to any extent that he desired, which he did. From 10
A. M., until 3 P. M., the judge occupied his seat in the court-room,
hearing the case in chambers. The case was conducted with the
most respectful consideration to all parties, and on all issues.
36

562 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

None of the lawyers had ever had a patent case before, and, hav-
incr had considerable experience in patent suits since then, I am
surprised to see at this date how correctly the case was then con
ducted. After the court adjourned each day, the counsel and the
parties on each side, respectively, met in their accustomed rooms
and discussed the proceedings to be observed the next day. Supper
was at 6 P. M., and after that all met as before described, and held
intellectual entertainments.

"Mrs. Morse (then a bride) was the centre of attraction, and re
ceived the polite attentions of all ; counsel and friends on both sides
endeavored to make the time agreeable to her.

"Of these men, Woolley died in 1849, of cholera; Loughbor-
ough became demented and committed suicide by hanging himself,
in a stable, in the interior of Missouri ; Ben Monroe died about
1860 ; Kendall died some few years since ; Morse in 1872. I am
the only one alive that took an active part in the suit on the side
of Morse."

It was during one of these pleasant and social hours that
Judge Pirtle, of the counsel for O'Bielly, wrote upon a sheet of
paper this sentence in Latin, and passed it across the table to
Mrs. Morse, in compliment to her husband :

" Et non ' eripuit cselo fulmen '
Fulguri mentem fudit, et orbem lumine cinxit."

" Though he did not ' snatch the thunder from heaven,' he
gave the electric current thought, and bound the earth in light."

After the case had been argued with consummate ability on
both sides, Judge Monroe gave his opinion sustaining the Morse
patent, and granting an injunction against the O'Kielly line.
The parties thus enjoined sought to evade its force by receiving
intelligence by sound. This was one of the original modes of
telegraphy secured to Morse as its inventor, and the use of it
by the O'Eielly line was pronounced by the court to be a mere
evasion of the injunction. It is now the plan almost universally
in use in this country. The parties were then arrested and
placed under bonds for contempt. A second attempt at evasion
was made by removing the instruments outside the district of
Kentucky to Jeffersonville, Indiana, while the posts and wires
continued on the other side of the river Ohio as before. The line

AMOS KENDALL'S STATEMENT. 563

operators were arrested, a fine imposed, and they were placed
under bonds again. The marshal of the district was directed to
take possession of the posts and wires, to break the circuit of
electricity, and prevent the defendants from further operations
upon their Telegraph. An appeal was taken from the decision
of the District Court of Kentucky to the Supreme Court of the
United States.

We now approach the great trial by which the right and title
of Samuel F. B. Morse to the invention of the Electro-Magnetic
Recording Telegraph were settled, so for as human knowledge
can determine any question. The opinion of the Supreme Court
of the United States in full is here recited, because the case in
all its relations and bearings is set forth with such clearness that
the general reader, as well as scientific, will readily receive and
appreciate the justice and intelligence of the decision. With
great force and propriety did Mr. Kendall say in his argument
submitted to the Supreme Court :

" Seldom, if ever, has a more important case been brought be
fore the Supreme Court of the United States for its decision. It is
important on account of the pecuniary interests involved in it ; it
is important as involving the fame of a distinguished citizen, and
through him, to some extent, the fame of our common country. It
is transcendently important in the principles of patent-law which
it presents for final decision by this tribunal. It is now to be test
ed whether Professor Morse is to share the fate of so many distin
guished inventors who have gone before him ; whether individuals
or the public, eager to possess the fruits of his mental labor before
they rightfully become public property, shall be permitted to grat
ify their cupidity ; whether Professor Morse, like the inventor of the
cotton-gin, is to lose the profits of his invention, while thousands
of his instruments, the originality of which no man doubts, resound
throughout the land, almost in the presence of the tribunal which
must decide upon his patents. It is now to be tested whether
American courts are hereafter to consider patent privileges as the
price paid by the Government for the fruits of mental labor, to be
held as sacred from piracy, theft, or trespass, as any other species
of private property ; or whether, like the English courts for a long-
period, now happily at an end, they are still to confound them with
odious monopolies of what, before the issue of the special grants,
had become the property of the public."

564 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

The case was argued by General H. II. Gillett and Hon.
Salmon P. Chase in favor of O'Kielly, and George Harding,
St. George T. Campbell, and George Giiford, Esqrs., for the
Morse partners. Mr. Chase afterward became Chief-Justice of
the United States, and the decision, which he rendered, not on the
bench, but at the dinner-table, will be found in the subsequent
pages of this volume, where he is to be seen presiding at a ban
quet given to Professor Morse, in the city of New York. It is
quite as decisive as the following, rendered by his immediate
predecessor. The decision of the Supreme Court was unani
mous on all the points involving the right of Professor Morse to
the claim of being the original inventor of the Electro-Magnetic
Kecording Telegraph. A minority of the court went still fur
ther, and gave him the right to the motive power of magnet
ism as a means of operating machinery to imprint signals or to
produce sounds for telegraphic purposes.

The testimony of experts in science and art is not introduced,
because it was thoroughly weighed and sifted by intelligent and
impartial men, whose judgment must be accepted as final and
sufficient. The justice of the decision has never been impugned.
Each succeeding year has confirmed it with accumulating evi
dence. One point was decided against the Morse patent, and it
is worthy of being noticed that this decision which denied to
Morse the right to the exclusive use of electro-magnetism for
recording telegraphs has never been of injury to his instrument,
because no other inventor has devised an instrument to super
sede his. The court decided that the Electro-Magnetic Tele
graph was the sole and exclusive invention of Samuel F. B.
Morse. If others could make better instruments for the same
purpose, they were at liberty to use electro-magnetism. Twenty
years have elapsed since this decision was rendered, the Morse
patent has expired by limitation of time, but it is still without
a rival in any part of the world.

DECISION OF SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES.
SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE vs. HENRY O'RTELLY.

Appeal from tlie District Court of Kentucky, wherein Morse was granted an
Injunction against O^Rielly, for an Infringement' of the Morse Patents,
by the Use of the Columbian Telegraph. The Supreme Court perpetuates
that Injunction.

Counsel for Morse. — George Gifford, St. George T. Campbell, George
Harding.

Counsel for O^Rielly— Salmon P. Chase, R. H. Gillett.

DECISION EENDERED JANUAEY 80, 1854.

December Term, 1853. — Henry O'Rielly, Eugene L. Whitman, and W. F. B.
Hastings, Appellants, vs. Samuel F. B. Morse, Alfred Vail, and Francis
0. J. Smith, Appellees.

Appeal from the Circuit Court of the United States for the District of

Kentucky.

Chief-Justice Taney delivered the opinion, which was concurred
in by Justices Daniel, Catron, and McLean.

" In proceeding to pronounce judgment in this case, the court is sensi
ble, not only of its importance, but of the difficulties in some of the ques
tions which it presents for decision. The case was argued at the last term,
and continued over by the court for the purpose of giving it a more delib
erate examination. And since the continuance, we have received from the
counsel on both sides printed arguments, in which all of the questions raised
on the trial have been fully and elaborately discussed.

" The appellants take three grounds of defense : In the first place, they
deny' that Professor Morse was the first and original inventor of the Electro-
Magnetic Telegraph, described in his two reissued patents of 1848. Sec
ondly, they insist that, if he was the original inventor, the patents under
which he claims have not been issued conformably to the acts of Congress,
and do not confer on him the right to the exclusive use. And, thirdly, if
these two propositions are decided against them, they insist that the Tele
graph of O'Rielly is substantially different from that of Professor Morse,
and the use of it, therefore, no infringement of his rights.

" In determining these questions, we shall, in the first instance, confine
our attention to the patent which Professor Morse obtained in 1840, and
which was reissued in 1848. The main dispute between the parties is
upon the validity of this patent ; and the decision upon it will dispose of
the chief points in controversy in the other.

566

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" In relation to the first point (the originality of the invention), many
witnesses have been examined on both sides.

" It is obvious that for some years before Professor Morse made his in
vention scientific men in different parts of Europe were earnestly engaged
in the same pursuit. Electro-Magnetism itself was a recent discovery, and
opened to them a new and unexplored field for their labors, and minds of
a high order were engaged in developing its power, and the purposes to
which it might be applied.

''Professor Henry, of the Smithsonian Institution, states in his testimony
that prior to the winter of 1819-'20, an Electro-Magnetic Telegraph— that
is to' say, a Telegraph operating by the combined _ influence of electricity
and magnetism — was not possible ; that the scientific principles on which
it is founded were until then unknown ; and that the first fact af Electro-
Magnetism was discovered by Oersted, of Copenhagen, in that winter, and
wa^ widely published, and the account everywhere received with interest.

u He afso gives an account of the various discoveries subsequently made
from time to time, by different persons in different places, developing its
properties and powers; and among them his own. He commenced his re
searches in 1828, and pursued them with ardor and success from that time
until the Telegraph of Professor Morse was established and in actual opera
tion. And it is due to him to say that no one has contributed more to en
large the knowledge of Electro-Magnetism, and to lay the foundations
of°the great invention of which we are speaking, than the professor
himself.

u It is unnecessary, however, to give in detail the discoveries enumer
ated by him — either his own or those of others. But it appears from his
testimony that, very soon after the discovery made by Oersted, it was be
lieved by men of science that this newly-discovered power might be used
to communicate intelligence to distant places. And, before the year 1823,
Ampere, of Paris, one of the most successful cultivators of physical science,
proposed to the French Academy a plan for that purpose. But his project
was never reduced to practice. And the discovery made by Barlow, of the
Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, England, in 1825, that the galvanic
current greatly diminished in power as the distance increased, pu-t at rest
for a time all attempts to construct an Electro-Magnetic Telegraph. Sub
sequent discoveries, however, revived the hope ; and in the year 1832, when
Professor Morse appears to have devoted himself to the subject, the convic
tion was general, among men of science everywhere, that the object could
and, sooner or later, would be accomplished.

" The great difficulty in their way was the fact that the galvanic cur
rent, however strong in the beginning, became gradually weaker as it ad
vanced on the wire ; and was not strong enough to produce a mechanical
effect after a certain distance had been traversed. But encouraged by the
discoveries which were made from time to time, and strong in the belief
that an Electro-Magnetic Telegraph was practicable, many eminent and
scientific men in Europe, as well as in this country, became deeply engaged
in endeavoring to surmount what appeared to be the chief obstacle to its
success. And, in this state of things, it ought not to be a matter of sur
prise that four different Magnetic Telegraphs, purporting to have over
come the difficulty, should be invented, and made public so nearly at the
same time that each has claimed a priority, and that a close and careful
scrutiny of the facts in each case is necessary to decide between them. The
inventions were so nearly simultaneous, that neither inventor can be justly
accused of having derived any aid from the discoveries of the other.

' One of these inventors, Doctor Steinheil, of Munich, in Germany,
communicated his discovery to the Academy of Sciences in Paris, on the

MORSE DECLARED THE INVENTOR. 567

19th of July, 1838, and states in Ms communication that it had been in
operation more than a year.

" Another of the European inventors, Professor Wheatstone, of London,
in the month of April, 1837, explained to Professors Henry and Bache,
who were then in London, his plan of an Electro-Magnetic Telegraph, and
exhibited to them his method of bringing into action a second galvanic
circuit in order to provide a remedy for the diminution of force in a long
circuit ; but it appears by the testimony of Professor Gale that the patent
to Wheatstone & Cooke was not sealed until January 21, 1840, and their
specification was not filed until the 21st of July, in the same year ; and
there is no evidence that any description of it was published before 1839.

u The remaining European patent is that of Edward Davy. His patent,
it appears, was sealed on the 4th of July, 1838, but his specification was
not filed until January 4, 1839 ; and when these two English patents are
brought into competition with that of Morse, they must take date from
the time of filing their respective specifications. For it must be borne in
mind that, as the law then stood in England, the inventor was allowed six
months to file the description of his invention after his patent was sealed,
while, in this country, the filing of the specification is simultaneous with
the application for patents.

" The defendants contend that all, or at least some one of these European
Telegraphs, were invented and made public before the discovery claimed
by Morse ; and that the process and method by which he conveys intelli-
.gence to a distance is substantially the same, with the exception only of
its capacity for impressing upon paper the marks or signs described in the
alphabet he invented.

" Waiving, for the present, any remarks upon the identity or similitude
of these inventions, the court is of opinion that the first branch of the
objection cannot be maintained, and that Morse was the first and original
inventor of the Telegraph described in his specification, and preceded the
three European inventions relied on by the defendants.

" The evidence is full and clear that, when he was returning from a visit
to Europe in 1832, he was deeply engaged upon this subject during the
voyage ; and that the process and means were so far developed and ar
ranged in his own mind that he was confident of ultimate success. It is
in proof that he pursued these investigations with unremitting ardor and
industry, interrupted occasionally by pecuniary embarrassments ; and we
think that it is established, by the testimony of Professor Gale and others,
that early in the spring of 1837 Morse had invented his plan for combining
two or more electric or galvanic circuits, with independent batteries, for
the purpose of overcoming the diminished force of electro-magnetism in
long circuits, although it was not disclosed to the witness until afterward ;
and that there is reasonable ground for believing that he had so far com
pleted his invention, that the whole process, combination, powers, and
machinery, were arranged in his mind, and that the delay in bringing it
out arose from his want of means ; for it required the highest order of
mechanical skill to execute and adjust the nice and delicate work neces
sary to put the Telegraph into operation, and the slightest error or defect
would have been fatal to its success. He had not the means at that time
to procure the services of workmen of that character; and without their
aid no model could be prepared which would do justice to his invention ;
and it, moreover, required a large sum of money to procure proper materials
for the work. He, however, filed his caveat on the 6th of October, 1837,
and on the 7th of April, 1838. applied for his patent, accompanying his
application with a specification of his invention, and describing the pro
cess and means used to produce the effect. It is true that O'Rielly in his

5gg LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

answer alleges that the plan by which he now combines two or more gal
vanic or electric currents, with independent batteries, was not contained in
that specification, but discovered and interpolated afterward ; but there is
no evidence whatever to support this charge. And we are satisfied from
the 'testimony that the plan, as it now appears in his ' specification, had
thru been invented, and was actually intended to be described.

" With this evidence before us, we think it is evident that the inven
tion of Morse was prior to that of Steinheil, Wheatstone, or Davy. The
discovery of Steinheil, taking the time which he himself gave to the
French Academy of Sciences, cannot be understood as carrying it back
beyond the months of May or June, 1837 ; and that of Wheatstone, as
exhibited to Professors Henry and Bache, goes back only to April in that
year. And there is nothing in the evidence to carry back the invention
of Davy bevond the 4th of January, 1839, when his specification was filed,
except a publication said to have been made in the London Mechanics^
Magazine, January 20, 1838 ; and the invention of Morse is justly entitled
to take date from early in the spring of 1837. And in the description of
Davy's invention, as given in the publication of January 20, 1838, there is
nothing specified which Morse could have borrowed ; and we have no
evidence to show that his invention ever was or could be carried into
successful operation.

"In relation to Wheatstone, there would seem to be some discrepancy
in the testimony. According to Professor Gale's testimony, as before
mentioned, the specification of Wheatstone and Cooke was not filed until
July 21, 1840, and his information is derived from the London Journal of
Arts and Sciences. But it appears by the testimony of Edward F. Barnes
that this Telegraph was in actual operation in 1839. And in the case of
the Electric Telegraph Company m. Brett & Little, 10 Common Pleas
Reports, by Scott, his specification is said to have been filed December 12,
1837. But if the last-mentioned date is taken as the true one, it would
not make his invention prior to that of Morse. And even if it would, yet
this case must be decided by the testimony in the record, and we cannot
go out of it, and take into consideration a fact stated in a book of reports.
Moreover, we have noticed this case merely because it has been pressed
into the argument. The appellants do not mention it in their answer, nor
put their defense on it. And if the evidence of its priority was conclusive,
it would not avail them in this suit. For they cannot be allowed to sur
prise the patentee by evidence of a prior invention of which they gave
him no notice.

" But if the priority of Morse's invention was more doubtful, and it
was conceded that in fact some one of the European inventors had pre
ceded him a few months or a few weeks, it would not invalidate his
patent. The act of Congress provides that when the patentee believes
himself to be the ^first inventor, a previous discovery in a foreign country
shall not render his patent void, unless such discovery or some substantial
part of it had been before patented or described in a printed publication.

Now we suppose no one will doubt that Morse believed himself to

>e the original inventor when he applied for his patent in April, 1838.

btemheil's discovery does not appear to have been ever patented, nor to

liave been described in any printed publication until July of that year.

And neither of the English inventions is shown by the testimony to have

n patented, until after Morse's application for a patent, nor to have

o described in any previous publication as to embrace any substan-

il part of his invention. And if his application for a patent was made

' !U<? $ir(Tu.mstances> tne Patent is good, even if, in point of fact, he
was not the first inventor.

OBJECTIONS EXAMINED. 569

"In this view of the subject, it is unnecessary to compare the Tele
graph of Morse with these European inventions, to ascertain whether they
are substantially the same or not. If they were the same in every partic
ular, it would not impair his rights. But it is impossible to examine
them, and look at the process and the machinery and results of each, so
far as the facts are before us, without perceiving at once the substantial
and essential difference between them, and the decided superiority of the
one invented by Professor Morse.

" Neither can the inquiries he made, nor the information or advice he
received from men of science, in the course of his researches, impair his
right to the character of an inventor. No invention can possibly be made,
consisting of a combination of different elements of power, without a
thorough knowledge of the properties of each of them, and the mode in
which they operate on each other. And it can make no difference in this
respect whether he derives his information from books, or from conversa
tion with men skilled in the science. If it were otherwise, no patent in
which a combination of different elements is used could ever be obtained.
For no man ever made such an invention without having first obtained this
information, unless it was discovered by some fortunate accident. And it
is evident that such an invention as the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph could
never have been brought into action without it. For a very high degree
of scientific knowledge, and the nicest skill in the mechanic arts, are
combined in it, and were both necessary to bring it into suscessful opera
tion. And the fact that Morse sought and obtained the necessary infor
mation and counsel from the best sources, and acted upon it, neither im
pairs his rights as an inventor, nor detracts from his merits.

'" Regarding Professor Morse as the first and original inventor of the
Telegraph, we come to the objections which have been made to the valid
ity of his patent.

"We do not think it necessary to dwell upon the objections taken
to the proceedings upon which the first patent was issued, or to the addi
tional specifications in the reissued patent of 1848. In relation to the first,
if there was any alteration, at the suggestion of the commissioner, it ap
pears to have been in a matter of form rather than of substance ; and, as
regards the second, there is nothing in the proof, or on the face of the
reissued patent, to show that the invention therein described is not the
same with the one intended to be secured by the original patent. It was
reissued by the proper authority, and it was the duty of the Commissioner
of Patents to see that it did not cover more than the original invention.
It must be presumed, therefore, that it does not, until the contrary ap
pears. Variations from the description given in the former specification
do not necessarily imply that it is for a different discovery. The right to
surrender the old patent, and receive another in its place, was given for
the purpose of enabling the patentee to give a more perfect description of
his invention, when any mistake or oversight was committed in his first.
It necessarily, therefore, varies from it. And we see nothing in the re
issued patent that may not, without proof to the contrary, be regarded as
a more • careful description than the former one, explaining more fully the
nice and delicate manner in which the different elements of power are
arranged and combined together and act upon one another, in order to
produce the effect described in the specification. Nor is it void because it
does not bear the same date with his French patent. It is not necessary
to inquire whether the application of Professor Morse to the Patent-Office,
in 1838, before he went to France, does or does not exempt his patent from
the operation of the act of Congress upon this subject. For, if it should
be decided that it does not exempt it, the only effect of that decision

570

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

would be to limit the monopoly to fourteen years from the date of the
foreign patent And in either case the patent was in full force at the time
the injunction was granted by the Circuit Court, and when the present ap
peal stood regularly for hearing in this court.

" And this brings us to the exceptions taken to the specification and
claims of the patentee in the reissued patent of 1848.

" We perceive no well-founded objection to the description which is
given of the whole invention and its separate parts, nor to his right to
a patent for the first seven inventions set forth in the specification of his
claims. The difficulty arises on the eighth.

" It is in the following words :

" ' Eighth. I do not propose to limit myself to the specific machinery
or parts of machinery described in the foregoing specification and claims ;
the essence of my invention being the use of the motive power of the
electric or galvanic current, which L call Electro-Magnetism, however de
veloped, for marking or printing intelligible characters, signs, or letters,
at any distances, being a new application of that power of which I claim
to be the first inventor or discoverer.'

"It is impossible to misunderstand the extent of this claim. He
claims the exclusive right to every improvement where the motive power
is the electric or galvanic current, and the result is the marking or print
ing intelligible characters, signs, or letters, at a distance.

" If this claim can be maintained, it matters not by what process or
machinery the result is accomplished. For aught that we now know,
some future inventor in the onward march of science may discover a mode
of writing or printing at a distance, by means of the electric or galvanic
current, without using any part of the process or combination set forth in
the plaintiff's specification. His invention may be less complicated — less
liable to get out of order — less expensive in construction and in its opera
tion. But yet, if it is covered by this patent, the inventor could not use
it, nor the public have the benefit of it, without the pci mission of this
patentee.

" Nor is this all. While he shuts the door against inventions of other
persons, the patentee would be able to avail himself of new discoveries in
the properties and powers of electro-magnetism which scientific men might
bring to light. For he says lie does not confine his claims to the machin
ery or parts of machinery which he specifies : but claims for himself a
monopoly in its use, however developed, for the purpose of printing at a
distance. New discoveries in physical science may enable him to combine
it with new agents and new elements, and by that means attain the object
in a manner superior to the present process, and altogether different from
it. And if he can secure the exclusive use, by his present patent, he may
vary it with every new discovery and development of the science, and
need place no description of the new manner, processs, or machinery,
upon the records of the Patent-Office. And when his patent expires, the
public must apply to him to learn what it is. In fine, he claims an exclu
sive right to use a manner and process which he has not described, and in-
Leed had not invented, and therefore could not describe when he obtained
his patent. The court is of opinion that the claim is too broad, and not
warranted by law.

" No one, we suppose, will maintain that Fulton could have taken out

a patent for his invention of propelling vessels by steam, describing the

s and machinery he used, and claimed under it the exclusive right

the motive power of steam, however developed, for the purpose of

Ming vessels. It can hardly be suposed that under such a patent he

I have prevented the use of the improved machinery which science

NO EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO THE POWER. 571

has since introduced, although the motive power is steam, and the result
is the propulsion of vessels. Neither could the man who first discovered
that steam might, by a proper arrangement of machinery, be used as a
motive power to grind corn or spin cotton, claim the right to the exclu
sive use of steam, as a motive power, for the purpose of producing such
effects.

" Again, the use of steam, as a motive power in printing-presses, is
comparatively a modern discovery. Was the first inventor of a machine
or process of this kind entitled to a patent, giving him the exclusive right
to use steam as a motive power, however developed, for the purpose of
marking or printing intelligible characters ? Could he have prevented
the use of any other press subsequently invented, where steam was used ?
Yet, so far as patentable rights are concerne'd, both improvements must
stand on the same principles. Both use a known motive power to print
intelligible marks or letters ; and it can make no difference, in their legal
rights under the patent laws, whether the printing is done near at hand
or at a distance. Both depend for success not merely upon the motive
power, but upon the ma'chinery with which it is combined. And it has
never, we believe, been supposed by any one that the first inventor of a
steam printing-press was entitled to the exclusive use of steam, as a mo
tive power, however developed, for marking or printing intelligible char
acters.

" Indeed, the acts of the patentee himself are inconsistent with the
claim made in his behalf. For in 1846 he took out a patent for his new
improvement of local circuits, by means of which intelligence could be
printed at intermediate places along the main line of the Telegraph ; and
he obtained a reissued patent for this invention in 1848. Yet in this new
invention the electric or galvanic current was the motive power, and writ
ing at a distance the effect. The power was undoubtedly developed by
new machinery and new combinations. But if his eighth claim could be
sustained, this improvement would be embraced by his first patent. And
if it was so embraced, his patent for the local circuits would be illegal
and void. For he could not take out a subsequent patent for a portion
of his first invention, and thereby extend his monopoly beyond the period
limited by law.

" Many cases have been referred to in the argument, which have been
decided upon this subject, in the English and American courts. We shall
speak of those only which seem to be considered as leading ones. And
those most relied on, and pressed upon the court, in behalf of the paten
tee, are the cases which arose in England upon Neilson's patent for the
introduction of heated air between the blowing apparatus and the furnace
in the manufacture of iron.

" The leading case flpon this patent is that of Neilson and others vs.
Harford and others, in the English Court of Exchequer. It was elabo
rately argued, and appears to have been carefully considered by the court.
The case was this :

" Neilson in his specification described his invention as one for the im
proved application of air to produce heat in fires, forges, and furnaces,
where a blowing-apparatus is required. And it was to be applied as fol
lows : The blast or current of air produced by the blowing-apparatus was
to be passed from it into an air-vessel or receptacle made sufficiently
strong to endure the blast ; and through or from that vessel or receptacle,
by means of a tube, pipe, or aperture, into the fire : the receptacle to be
kept artificially heated to a considerable temperature by heat externally ap
plied. He then described in rather general terms the manner in which the
receptacle might be constructed and heated, and the air conducted through

572

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

it to the fire • stating that the form of the receptacle was not material, nor
the manner of applying heat to it. In the action above mentioned for the
infringement of this patent, the defendant, among other defenses, insisted
that the machinery for heating the air and throwing it hot into the furnace
was not sufficiently described in the specification, and the patent void on
that account; and also, that a patent for throwing hot air into the fur
nace, instead of cold, and thereby increasing the intensity of the heat, is
a patent for a principle, and that a principle was not patentable.

"Upon the first of these defenses the jury found that a man of ordi
nary skill and knowledge of the subject, looking at the specification alone,
could construct such an apparatus as would be productive of a beneficial
result sufficient to make it worth while to adapt it to the machinery in all
cases of forges, cupolas, and "furnaces, where the blast is used.

" And upon the second ground of defense, Baron Parke, who deliv
ered the opinion of the court, said :

" ' It is very difficult to distinguish it from the specification of a patent
for a principle, and this at first created in the minds of the court much
difficulty; but, after full consideration, we think that the plaintiff does
not merely claim a principle, but a machine embodying a principle, and a
very valuable one. We think the case must be considered as if, the prin
ciple being well known, the plaintiff had first invented a mode of apply
ing it by a mechanical apparatus to furnaces ; and his invention then con
sists in this : by interposing a receptacle for heated air between the blow
ing-apparatus and the furnace. In this receptacle he directs the air to be
heated by the application of heat externally to the receptacle, and thus
he accomplishes the object of applying the blast, which was before cold
air, in a heated state to the furnace.'

" We see nothing in this opinion differing in any degree from the fa
miliar principles of law applicable to patent cases. Neilson claimed no
particular mode .of constructing the receptacle, or of heating it. He
pointed out the manner in which it might be done ; but admitted that
it might also be done in a variety of wrays ; and at a higher or lower
temperature ; and that all of them would produce the effect in a greater
or less degree, provided the air was heated by passing through a heated
receptacle. And hence it seems that the court first doubted whether
it was a patent for any thing more than the discovery that hot air would
promote the ignition of fuel better than cold. And if this had been the
construction, the court, it appears, would have held his patent to be void ;
because the discovery of a principle in natural philosophy or physical sci
ence is not patentable.

" But after much consideration, it was finally decided that this prin
ciple must be regarded as well known, and that the plaintiff had invented
a mechanical mode of applying it to furnaces ; an& that his invention con
sisted in interposing a heated receptacle between the blower and the fur
nace, and by this means heating the air after it left the blower, and before
it was thrown into the fire. Whoever, therefore, used this method of
throwing hot air into the furnace, used the process he had invented, and
thereby infringed his patent, although the form of the receptacle or the
mechanical arrangements for heating it might be different from those de
scribed by the patentee. For whatever form was adopted for the recep
tacle, or whatever mechanical arrangements were made for heating it, the
effect would be produced in a greater or less degree, if the heated recep
tacle was placed between the blower and the furnace, and the current of
air passed through it.

u Undoubtedly the principle that hot air will promote the ignition of
fuel better than cold, was embodied in this machine. But the patent was

NEILSON'S PATENT. 573

not supported because this principle was embodied in it. He would have
been equally entitled to a patent if he had invented an improvement in
the mechanical arrangements of the blowing-apparatus, or in the- furnace,
while a cold current of air was still used. But his patent was supported,
because he had invented a mechanical apparatus by which a current of
hot air instead of cold could be thrown in. And this new method was
protected by his patent. The interposition of a heated receptacle in any
form was the novelty he invented.

" We do not perceive how the claim, in the case before us, can derive
any countenance from this decision. If the Court of Exchequer had said
that Neilson's patent was for the discovery that hot air would promote
ignition better than cold, and that he had an exclusive right to use it for
that purpose, there might, perhaps, have been some reason to rely upon it.
But the court emphatically denied his right to such a patent ; and his
claim, as the patent was construed and supported by the court, is alto
gether unlike that of the patentee before us.

" For JSTeilson discovered that by interposing a heated receptacle be
tween the blower and the furnace, and conducting the current of air
through it, the heat in the furnace was increased. And this effect was
always produced, whatever might be the form of the receptacle, or the
mechanical contrivances for heating it, or for passing the current of air
through it, and into the furnace.

" But Professor Morse has not discovered that the electric or galvanic
current will always print at a distance, no matter what may be the form of
the machinery or mechanical contrivances through which it passes. You
may use electro-magnetism as a motive power, and yet not produce the
described effect — that is, print at a distance intelligible marks or signs. To
produce that effect it must be combined with and passed through and op
erate upon certain complicated and delicate machinery adjusted and ar
ranged upon philosophical principles, and prepared by the highest me
chanical skill. And it is the high praise of Professor Morse, that he has been
able by a new combination of known powers, of which electro-magnetism
is one, to discover a method by which intelligible marks or signs may be
printed at a distance. And for the method or process thus discovered he is
entitled to a patent. But he has not discovered that the electro-magnetic
current, used as a motive power, in any other method, and with any other
combination, will do as well.

" We have commented on the case in the Court of Exchequer more
fully, because it has attracted much attention in the courts of this coun
try as well as in the English courts, and has been differently understood.
And perhaps a mistaken construction of that decision has led to the broad
claim in the patent now under consideration.

" We do not deem it necessary to remark upon the other English de
cisions in relation to Neilson's patent, nor upon the other cases referred to,
which stand upon similar principles. The observations we have made on
the case in the Court of Exchequer will equally apply to all of them.

" We proceed to the American decisions ; and the principles herein
stated were fully recognized by this court in the case of Leroy et al. vs.
Tatham and others, decided at the last term, 14 How., 156.

" It appeared in that case that the patentee had discovered that lead,
recently set, would, under heat and pressure in a close vessel, reunite per
fectly after a separation of its parts, so as to make wrought instead of cast
pipe. And the court held that he was not entitled to a patent for this
newly-discovered principle or quality in lead ; and that such a discovery
was not patentable ; but that he was entitled to a patent for the new pro
cess or method in the art of making lead pipe, which this discovery en-

574 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

abled him to invent and employ ; and was bound to describe such process
or method fully in his specification.

" Many cases have also been referred to which were decided m the Cir
cuit Courts. It will be found, we think, upon careful examination, that all
of them, previous to the decision on Neilson's patent, maintain the princi
ples on which this decision is made. Since that case was reported, it is ad
mitted that decisions have been made which would seem to extend patent-
able rights beyond the limits here marked out. As we have already said,
we see nothing in that opinion which would sanction the introduction of
any new principle in the law of patents; but if it were otherwise, it would
not justify this court in departing from what we consider as established
principles in the American courts. And to show what was heretofore the
doctrine upon this subject, we refer to the annexed cases. We do not stop
to comment on them, because such an examination would extend this opin
ion beyond all reasonable bounds. 1 Stor. Rep. 270, 285 ; Wyeth vs. Stone,
3 Sumn. 540 ; Blanchard «*. Sprague. The first-mentioned case is directly
in point.

" Indeed, independently of judicial authority, we do not think that the
language used in the act of Congress can justly be expounded otherwise.

" The fifth section of the act of 1836 declares that a patent shall convey
to the inventor, for a term not exceeding fourteen years, the exclusive right
of making, using, and vending to others to be used, his invention or dis
covery, referring to the specification for the particulars thereof.

"The sixth section directs who shall be entitled to a patent, and the
terms and conditions on which it may be obtained. It provides that any
person shall be entitled to a patent who has discovered or invented a new
and useful art, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or a new
and useful improvement on any previous discovery in either of them. But
before he receives a patent he shall deliver a written description of his in
vention or discovery, ' and of the manner and process of making, construct
ing, using, and compounding the same,"1 in such exact terms as to enable any
person skilled in the art or science to which it appertains, or with which
it is most nearly connected, to make, construct, compound, and use the same.

" This court has decided that the specification required by this law is a
part of the patent, and that the patent issues for the invention described
in the specification.

" Now, whether the Telegraph is regarded as an art or machine, the
manner and process of making or using it must be set forth in exact terms.
The act of Congress makes no difference in this respect between an art and
a machine. An improvement in the art of making bar-iron or spinning cot
ton must be so described, and so must the art of printing by the motive
power of steam. And in all of these cases it has always been held that
the patent embraces nothing more than the improvement described and
aimed as new, and that any one who afterward discovered a method of
accomplishing the same object, substantially and essentially differing from
the one described, had a right to use it. Can there be any good reason
why the art of printing at a distance, by means of the motive power of the

tnc or galvanic current, should stand on different principles ? Is there any

reason why the inventor's patent should cover broader ground ? It would

t to discover any thing in the act of Congress which would iustify

us distinction The specification of this patentee describes his invention

covery, and the manner and process of constructing and using it, and

in 'more mventions in the other arts above mentioned, covers noth-

Congress in relation to

THE PATENT GOOD. 575

" Whoever discovers that a certain useful result will be produced in
any art, machine, manufacture or composition of matter, by the use of cer
tain means, is entitled to a patent for it ; provided he specifies the means
he uses in a manner so full and exact, that any one skilled in the science
to which it appertains can, by using the means he specifies, without any
addition to or subtraction from them, produce precisely the result he de
scribes. And if this cannot be done by the means he describes, the patent
is void. And if it can be done, then the patent confers on him the exclu
sive right to use the means he specifies to produce the result or effect he
describes, and nothing more. And it makes no difference in this respect
whether the effect is produced by chemical agency or combination ; or by
the application of discoveries or principles in natural philosophy, known
or unknown before his invention ; or by machinery acting altogether upon
mechanical principles. In either case, he must describe the manner and
process as above mentioned, and the end it accomplishes. And any one
may lawfully accomplish the same end without infringing the patent, if he
uses means substantially different from those described.

"Indeed, if the eighth claim of the patentee can be maintained, there
was no necessity for any specification, further than to say that he had dis
covered that by using the motive power of electro-magnetism he could
print intelligible characters at any distance. We presume it will be ad
mitted on all hands that no patent could have issued on such a specifica
tion. Yet this claim can derive no aid from the specification filed. It is
outside of it, and the patentee claims beyond it. . And if it stands, it must
stand simply on the ground that the broad terms above mentioned were a
sufficient description, and entitled him to a patent in terms equally broad.
In our judgment, the act of Congress cannot be so construed.

" The patent then being illegal and void, so far as respects the eighth
claim, the question arises whether the whole patent is void, unless this
portion of it is disclaimed in a reasonable time after the patent issued.

" It has been urged on the part of the complainants that there is no
necessity for a disclaimer in a case of this kind. That it is required in
those cases only in which the party commits an error in fact, in claiming
something which was known before, and of which he was not the first dis
coverer ; that in this case he was the first to discover that the motive pow
er of electro-magnetism might be used to write at a distance ; and that his
error, if any, was a mistake in law in supposing his invention, as described
in his specification, authorized this broad claim of exclusive privilege; and
that the claim, therefore, may be regarded as a nullity, and allowed to
stand in the patent without a disclaimer, and without affecting the valid
ity of the patent.

" This distinction can hardly be maintained. The act of Congress above
recited requires that the invention shall be so described, that a person
skilled in the science to which it appertains, or with which it is most near
ly connected, shall be able to construct the improvement from the descrip
tion given by the inventor.

" Now, in this case, there is no description but one of a process by which
signs or letters may be printed at a distance. And yet he claims the ex
clusive right to any other mode, and any other process, although not de
scribed by him, by which the end can be accomplished, if electro-magnet
ism is used as the motive power. That is to say, he claims a patent for an
effect produced by the use of electro-magnetism, distinct from the process
or machinery necessary to produce it. The words of the act of Congress,
above quoted, show that no patent can lawfully issue upon such a claim.
For he claims what he has not described in the manner required by law.
And a patent for such a claim is as strongly forbidden by the act of Con
gress as if some other person had invented it before him.

576 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

•• Why therefore should he be required and permitted to disclaim in
the one case and not in the other ? The evil is. the same if lie claims more
tli-ui lie ha* invrnted, although no other person has invented it before him.
He prevents others from attempting to improve upon the manner and pro
cess which he has described in his specification, and may deter the public
from usino- it, even if discovered. He can lawfully claim only what he has
invented and described, and if he claims more his patent is void. And the
judgment in this case must be against the patentee, unless he is within the
act of Congress which gives the right to disclaim.

"The law which requires and permits him to disclaim is not penal, but
remedial. It is intended for the protection of the patentee as well as the
public, and ought not, therefore, to receive a construction that would restrict
its operation within narrower limits than its words fairly import. It provides
'that when any patentee shall have in his specification claimed to be
the first and original inventor or discoverer of any material or substantial
part of the thing patented, of which he' was not the first and original in
ventor, and shall have no legal or just claim to the same,' he must disclaim
in order to protect so much of the claim as is legally patented.

" Whether, therefore, the patent is illegal in part, because he claims
more than he has sufficiently described, or more than he invented, he must
in either case disclaim, in order to save the portion to which he is entitled ;
and he is allowed to do so when the error was committed by mistake.

"A different construction would be unjust to the public, as well as to
the patentee, and defeat the manifest object of the law, and produce the
very evil against which it is intended to guard.

"" It appears that no disclaimer has yet been entered at the Patent-Office.
But the delay in entering it is not unreasonable. For the objectionable
claim was sanctioned by the head of the office ; it has been held to be valid
by a Circuit Court, and differences of opinion in relation to it are found to ex
ist among the justices of this court. Under such circumstances, the patentee
had a right to insist upon it, and not disclaim it until the highest court
to which it could be carried had pronounced its judgment. The omis
sion to disclaim, therefore, does not render the patent altogether void, and
he is entitled to proceed in this suit for an infringement of that part of
his invention which is legally claimed and described. But as no disclaim
er was entered in the Patent-Office before this suit was instituted, he can
not, under the act of Congress, *be allowed costs against the wrong-doer,
although the infringement should be proved. And we think it is proved
by the testimony. But as the question of infringement embraces both of
the reissued patents, it is proper, before we proceed to that part of the
case, to notice the objections made to the second patent for the local cir
cuits, which was originally obtained in 1846, and reissued in 1848.

" It is certainly no objection to this patent, that the improvement is
embraced by the eighth claim in the former one. We have already said
that this claim is void, and that the former patent covers nothing but the
first seven inventions specifically mentioned.

" Nor can its validity be impeached upon the ground that it is an im
provement upon a former invention, for which the patentee had himself
already obtained a patent. It is true that, under the act of 1836, sec. 3, it
was in the power of Professor Morse, if he desired it, to annex this im
provement to his former specification, so as to make it from that time a
part of the original patent. But there is nothing in the act that forbids
him to take out a new patent for the improvement, if he prefers it. Any
other inventor might do so ; and there can be no reason, in justice or in
ohcy, for refusing the like privilege to the original inventor. And when
s no positive law to the contrary, he must stand on the same footing

THE PATENT ESTABLISHED. 577

with any other inventor of an improvement upon a previous discovery.
Nor is he bound in his new patent to refer specially to his former one. All
that the law requires of him is, that he shall not claim as new what is
covered by a former invention, whether made by himself or any other
person.

"It is said, however, that this alleged improvement is not new, and is
embraced in his former specification ; and that, if some portion of it is new,
it is not so described as to distinguish the new from the old.

" It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to discuss this part of the case so
as to be understood by any one who has not a model before him; or per
fectly familiar with the machinery and operations of the Telegraph. We
shall not, therefore, attempt to describe minutely the machinery or its
mode of operation. So far as this can be done intelligibly, without the aid
of a model to point to, it has been fully and well done, in the opinion de
livered by the learned judge who decided this case in the Circuit Court.
All that we think it useful or necessary to say is, that, after a careful ex
amination of the patents, we think the objection on this ground is not
tenable. The force of the objection is mainly directed upon the receiving-
magnet, which, it is said, is a part of the machinery of the first patent,
and performs the same office. But the receiving-magnet is not of itself
claimed as a new invention. It is claimed as a part of a new combination
or arrangement to produce a new result. And this combination does pro
duce a new and useful result. For by this new combination, and the ar
rangement and position of the receiving-magnet, the local independent
circuit is opened by the electric or galvanic current as it passes on the main
line, without interrupting it in its course, and the intelligence it conveys is
recorded almost at the same moment at the end of the line of the Tele
graph and at the different local offices on its way. And it hardly needs a
model or a minute examination of the machinery to be satisfied that a
Telegraph which prints the intelligence it conveys, at different places, by
means of the current as it passes along on the main line, must necessarily
require a different combination and arrangement of powers from, the one
that prints only at the end. The elements which compose it may all have
been used in the former invention, but it is evident that their arrange
ment and combination must be different to produce this new effect.
The new patent for the local circuits was, therefore, properly granted, and
we perceive no well-founded objection to the specification or claim con
tained in the reissued patent of 1848.

" The two reissued patents of 1848, being both valid, with the exception
of the eighth claim in the first, the only remaining question is, whether they,
or either of them, have been infringed by the defendants.

" The same difficulty arises in this part of the case which we have
already stated in speaking of the specification and claims in the patent for
the local circuits. It is difficult to convey a clear idea of the similitude or
differences in the two Telegraphs to any one not familiarly acquainted
with the machinery of both. The court must content itself, therefore, with
general terms, referring to the patents themselves for a more special de
scription of the matters in controversy.

" It is a well-settled principle of law, that the mere change in the form
of the machinery (unless a particular form is specified as the means by
which the effect described is produced), or an alteration in some of its
unessential parts, or in the use of known equivalent powers, not varying
essentially the machine, or its mode of operation or organization, will not
make the new machine a new invention. It may be an improvement upon
the former, but that will not justify its use without the consent of the first
patentee.

37

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" The Columbian (O'Rielly's) Telegraph does not profess to accomplish
a new purpose or produce a new result. Its object and effect is to com
municate intelligence at a distance, at the end of the main line and at the
local circuits on its way. And this is done by means of signs or letters im
pressed on paper or other material. The object and purpose of the Tele
graph is the same with that of Professor Morse.

« Does he use the same means ? Substantially, we think he does, both
upon the main line and in the local circuits. He uses upon the main line
the combination of two or more galvanic or electric circuits, with inde
pendent batteries, for the purpose of obviating the diminished force of the
galvanic current, and in a manner varying very little in form from the in
vention of Professor Morse. And indeed the same may be said of the en
tire combination set forth in the patentee's third claim. For O'Rielly's
can hardly be said to differ substantially and essentially from it. He uses
the combination which composes the register, with no material change in
the arrangement, or in the elements of which it consists ; and with the aid
of these means he conveys intelligence, by impressing marks or signs upon
paper ; these marks or signs being capable of being read and understood
by means of an alphabet, or signs adapted to the purpose. And as re
gards the second patent of Professor Morse, for the local circuits, the mu-
tator of the defendant does not vary from it in any essential particular.
All of the efficient elements of the combination are retained, or their
places supplied by well-known equivalents. Its organization is essentially
the same.

"Neither is the substitution of marks and signs differing from those in
vented by Professor Morse any defense to this action. His patent is not
for the invention of a new alphabet, but for a combination of powers com
posed of tangible and intangible elements, described in his specification,
by means of which marks or signs may be impressed upon paper at a dis
tance, which can there be read and understood. And if any marks, or
signs, or letters, are impressed in that manner, by means of a process sub
stantially the same with his 'invention, or with any particular part of it
covered by his patent, and those marks or signs can be read, and thus
communicate intelligence, it is an infringement of his patent. The varia
tion in the character of the marks would not protect it, if the marks could
be read and understood.

"We deem it unnecessary to pursue further the comparison between
the machinery of the patents. The invasion of the plaintiff's rights, already
stated, authorized the injunction granted by the Circuit Court, and so much
of its decree must be affirmed. But for the reasons hereinbefore assigned,
the complainants are not entitled to costs, and that portion of the decree
must be reversed, and a decree passed by this Court, directing each party
to pay his own costs in this and in the Circuit Court."

The opinion of Justice Grier, concurred in by Justices Nelson
and Wayne, contained these additional points :

" I entirely concur with the majority of the court that the appellee and
complainant below, Samuel F. B. Morse, is the true and first inventor of
5 recording telegraph, and the first who has successfully applied the
gent or element of Nature, called electro-magnetism, to printing and' re
ding intelligible characters at a distance; and that his patent of 1840,
ally reissued in 1848, and his patent for his improvements, as reissued in
\ same year, are good and valid ; and that the appellants have infringed
rights secured to the patentee by both his patents. But, as I do not
• in the views of the majority of the court, in regard to two great
points of the case, I shall proceed to express mv own »

THE DECISION FINAL. 579

Having given his reasons at length, Judge Grier says :

"It is not a composition of matter, or a manufacture, or a machine. It
is the application of a known element or power of Nature to a new and use
ful purpose by means of various processes, instruments, and devices, and,
if patentable at all, it must come within the category of ' a new and useful
art.1 It is as much entitled to this denomination as the original art of
printing itself. The name given to it in the patent is generally the act of
the commissioner, and in this, as in many other cases, a wrong one. The
true nature of the invention must be sought in the specification. The word
telegraph is derived from the Greek, and signifies to ' write afar off, or at
a distance.' It has heretofore been applied to various contrivances or de
vices to communicate intelligence by means of signals or semaphores which
speak to the eye for a moment ; but in its primary and literal signification
of writing, printing, or recording at a distance, it never was invented, per
fected, or put into practical operation, till it was done by Morse. He pre
ceded Steinheil, Cooke, Wheatstone, and Davy, in the successful application
of the mysterious power or element of electro-magnetism to this purpose ;
and his invention has entirely superseded their inefficient contrivances. It
is not only ' a new and useful art,' if that term means any thing, but a most
wonderful and astonishing invention, requiring tenfold more ingenuity and
patient experiment to perfect it, than the art of printing with types and
press, as originally invented."

This opinion of the Supreme Court established the rights of
Professor Morse. Subsequent attempts to disturb the decision
were in vain, and the inventor lived to know that this judgment
of the highest legal tribunal to' which his claims could be submit
ted, was also the enlightened verdict of the nations of the earth.

ROGEKS'S MODIFICATION.

In the year 1848, Henry J. Rogers, Josiah Lee, and Zenas
Barnum, contracted with Alexander Bain, for the right and privi
lege of using his inventions and improvements, then made and
patented, in operating a line of Telegraphs between the cities of
Washington, Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia, and New York,
and did construct a line of Telegraph between those cities ; the line
was finished from Washington to Baltimore in March, 1849 ; from
Baltimore to Wilmington in May, 1849 ; thence to Philadelphia in
July, 1849 ; and from Philadelphia to New York in December, 1849.
Mr. Rogers being a skillful telegraphic engineer, and not find
ing the telegraph of Mr. Bain to work satisfactorily, he so modi
fied this form of telegraph as to make it operate with great satis
faction. The recording was effected by means of the conjoined in
fluence of electro-chemical and chemical composition and decompo
sition — the electro-chemical decomposition arising from an electrical
current being transmitted through bibulous paper, saturated with a
solution of yellow prussiate of potash, a small quantity of dilute

580 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

nitric acid, and a small quantity of a solution of cream-of-tartar.
This paper was placed upon the recording instrument, consisting
essentially of a metallic disk, connected with clock-work, capable
of rotation on its axis, and a mechanical connection with one of the
wires of the branch (or local) circuit above the plate, and the other
wire of the branch circuit beneath. The upper wire of the branch
circuit, consisting principally of a covered copper wire, was termi
nated by a very fine short iron wire, acting as the stylus, at the end
of which, in contact with the prepared paper, and on its upper sur
face, dark-blue marks were made as the battery contacts were made
or broken during the rotation of the disk.

The foregoing statement, by Professor Eogers, presents
the material points in a trial which occurred in Philadelphia,
September, 1851, involving the originality of the invention
claimed by Professor Morse. The plaintiffs, who represented
the Magnetic Telegraph Company using Morse's patents, al
leged that the defendants, who represented the " Bain Line "
from "Washington to New York, had violated the patents grant
ed to Morse. The counsel on both sides were :

For Plaintiffs. — Hon. Amos Kendall, of "Washington;
St. George T. Campbell, Esq., of Philadelphia ; George Gilford,
Esq., of New York ; and George Harding, Esq., of Philadelphia.

For Defendants.— -Hon. William M. Meredith, of Philadel
phia ; Peter McCall, Esq., of Philadelphia ; and Hon. E. H.
Gillett, of Washington.

The Judges were Hon. E. C. Grier and Hon. J. K. Kane.
The plaintiffs, B. B. French and others, represented the " Mag
netic Company," and claimed damages from the defendants,
Henry J. Eogers and others, who represented the Bain Line
Telegraph between Washington and New York, for alleged
violations by them of the several patents granted to Professor
Morse, whose assignees the plaintiffs claimed to be. After a
protracted trial, in which voluminous testimony was taken, and
the ablest counsel heard, on the 3d of November Judge Kane
delivered the opinion of the court, Judge Grier expressing his
concurrence therein. A few paragraphs only from these opin
ions will be cited here :

"That he, Mr. Morse was the first to devise and practise the art of re-
anguage, at telegraphic distances, by the dynamic force of the

JUDGE KANE'S DECISION. 581

electro-magnet ; or, indeed, by any agency whatever, is, to our minds,
plain upon all the evidence. It is unnecessary to review the testimony for
the purpose of showing this. His application for a patent, in April, 1838,
was preceded by a series of experiments, results, illustrations, and proofs
of final success, which leave no doubt whatever but that his great inven
tion was consummated before the early spring of 1837. There is no one
person, whose invention has been spoken of by any witness or referred to
in any book, as involving the principle of Mr. Morse's discovery, but must
yield precedence of date to this. Neither Steinheil, nor Cooke and Wheat-
stone, nor Davy, nor Dyar, nor Henry, had at this time made a recording
telegraph of any sort. The devices then known were merely semaphores,
that spoke to the eye for the moment — bearing about the same relation to
the great discovery now before us, as the Abbe" Sicard's invention of a
visual alphabet for the purposes of conversation bore to the art of print
ing with movable types. Mr. Dyar's had no recording apparatus, as he
expressly tells us ; and Professor Henry had contented himself with the
abundant honors of his laboratory and lecture-rooms.

"When, therefore, Mr. Morse claimed, in his first specification, 'the
application of electro-magnets ' ' for transmitting, by signs and sounds,
intelligence between distant points,' and ' the mode and process of record
ing or making permanently signs of intelligence transmitted between dis
tant points ; ' and when in his second specification he claimed ' the mak
ing use of the motive power of magnetism, when developed by the action
of currents of electricity, as a means of operating and giving motion to
machinery, which may be used to imprint signals upon paper or other
suitable material,' ' for the purpose of telegraphic communication ; ' char
acterizing his ' invention as the first recording or printing telegraph by
means of electro-magnetism ; ' and when, in his third, after again describ
ing his machinery and process, he once more characterized it in the same
terms, and claimed ' as the essence of his invention the use of the motive
power of the electric or galvanic current ' (electro-magnetism as he now
terms it), 'however developed, for marking or printing intelligible charac
ters, signs of letters at any distance ; ' through these several forms of spe
cification, claiming and renewing his claim of property in the same inven
tion, as it seems to us — and claiming in each and all of them no more,
as it also seems to us, than he was justly entitled to claim — he declared
the existence of a new art, asserted his right as its inventor and owner,
and, announcing fully its nature and elements, invoked in return the con
tracted protection of the laws.

" From this time his title was vested as patentee of the art, and other
men became competitors with him only in the work of diversifying and
perfecting his details. He himself used the stylus, to impress "paper or
parchment, or wax-coated tablets, it may be ; though he sometimes made
a colored record by the friction of a pencil : another substitutes a liquid
pigment, or stains his paper with a chemical ink : the next perhaps stains
his paper beforehand, and writes on it by decomposing the coloring mat
ter : and another yet, more studious of originality than the rest, writes in
a cyclovolute, instead of a straight line, and manufactures his ink as he
goes along, by decomposing the tip of his stylus on a chemically-moist
ened paper. They are no doubt all of them inventors ; as was the man
who first cast types in a mould, or first bent metal into the practical sem
blance of the gray goose-quill, or first devised sympathetic ink, that the
curious in letter- writing might veil their secrets from the profane. All
these toiled ingeniously and well, to advance and embellish a preexisting
art. But they had no share in tfie discovery of the art itself, and can no
more claim to share the property, which its discovery may have conferred

5g2 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

on another, than he who has devised some appropriate setting for a gem,
can assert an interest in the gem itself.

" That the local or independent circuit, as we have described it, and as
it is more accurately and perhaps more intelligibly set out by Mr. Morse in
his specification, was original with him, cannot be seriously questioned.
The devices referred to in the patents of Cooke and Wheatstone, and
Davy, are at least imperfect modifications of the combined series of Mr.
Morse's first patent ; one of them not improbably borrowed from it. The
adjustable receiving magnet, the indispensable and characteristic element
of the local circuit patent, no one has claimed but himself.

" It is only to make the first approach to a controversy on this point, to
prove to us that Professor Henry had as early as 1828 made the intensity
magnet, with which the scientific world is now familiar — or that he after
ward, and before Mr. Morse's first application for a patent, had illustrated
before his classes at Princeton, the manner in which one circuit could
operate to hold another closed or to break it at pleasure — or that he had
foreseen the applicability of his discoveries to the purposes of a telegraph.
The question is not one of scientific precedence ; and, if it were, this is
not the forum that could add to or detract from the eminent fame of Mr.
Henry. It is purely a question of invention applied in a practical form
to a specific use ; and, so regarded, it admits but of a single answer."

After we have given these judicial decisions, so intelligent,
discriminating, impartial, and exhaustive, demonstrating the sole
and indisputable right of Samuel F. B. Morse to the invention
of the recording Telegraph, it is certainly not necessary for us
to argue the question. Envy or ignorance may still deny to
the inventor the honor which the courts and the world have
awarded him, but the verdict is irreversible.

BAIN AND HOUSE.

Two suits for infringement were conducted by the propri
etors of Professor Morse's patents, in which their applications
for injunction were denied. They are known as the House and
Bain cases. House devised an instrument of wonderful inge
nuity for printing messages in Eoman letters, employing axial
magnetism, a device developed by Dr. Charles Gr. Page. It was
claimed that Professor Morse, having been the first to invent a
method of recording the message, by means of electro-magnet
ism, was entitled to the exclusive use of the electrical force as
a telegraphic agent, by whatever device a current might record
the message. The phraseology of the patent, in the judgment
of the court, did not sustain the claim. While the invention
dated back to 1832, the patent was not applied for until 1837,
and was not issued till 1840. St^nheil had used a recording
magneto-electric telegraph in 1837, and Gauss and Weber had

HOUSE, BAIN, AND JACKSON. 583

pointed oat in print, the device by which to accomplish it, in
1833. Bain had succeeded in employing the electric current to
effect the solution of an iron wire, resting upon paper in motion,
saturated with yellow prussiate of potash and weak nitric acid.
When the current flowed, the iron dissolved, and at the instant,
by the action of the acid and prussiate of potash, a blue stain was
produced. If the contact was but for a moment, a dot was pro
duced ; if for an appreciable interval of time, a line was produced.
Bain used Morse's alphabet, but he effected a visible record by
a method wholly his own. The decisions do not apply to any
thing Professor Morse did. While acquiescing in his claims,
they simply assert that House's and Bain's modes were each new
as regards that of Professor Morse, and that the language of his
patent could not be construed to exclude all possible forms of
using electrical force to produce a recorded telegraphic message.
The question was in the phraseology of the patent ; the work
ing invention going back to 1835, two years before Steinheil's
successful , exhibition of his invention, was unquestionably the
first electro-magnetic recording telegraph.

The House invention is now employed only in a modified
form in combination with other inventions in stock-reporting
instruments. The Bain principle is employed to a limited ex
tent only in various systems of automatic telegraphs, but for the
general business of telegraphing, it has been, like the House,
superseded by the Morse system.

' More annoying than any of these lawsuits, was a claim set
lip by Dr. Charles T. Jackson, as the original inventor of the
Telegraph. He was one of the passengers on the Sully, and
took a leading part in the conversation which led Mr. Morse to
conceive the idea of the instrument which he afterward con
structed. The pertinacity with which Dr. Jackson insisted upon
his right to the honor of the invention, in spite of the clearest
evidence to the contrary, led Mr. Morse to state publicly that he
believed the claim to be the result of a disordered intellect.
Subsequent events make it evident that this charitable view was
also just. The same claimant asserted his right to the discov
ery of gun-cotton, ansesthetic agents and the circulation of the

584: LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

blood. As his pretensions to the invention of the Telegraph
were exploded by the courts, and exposed in a document by
Hon. Amos Kendall, widely published, it is not necessary to bur
den these pages with the correspondence between the claimant
and the inventor.

Nor is it important to report the various lawsuits which arose
in the extension of the Telegraph by rival lines, with conflict
ing claims. It was the practice of the Morse Company to grant
the use of their instruments to parties constructing lines of tel
egraph, and to take stock in such lines as the consideration for
the use of their patent. Conflicts naturally arose. The Morse
partners themselves became divided in interest. Complicated
and protracted litigations ensued. Large sums of money were
expended. The life of the great inventor was embittered. At
times he apprehended that he would be reduced again to abject
poverty. But in the end justice was triumphant. "Whatever
reward of merit the world can bestow, was secured to Professor
Morse in his lifetime — a lot that falls to few great inventors.
The decision of the courts, and testimony that is now incontro
vertible, justify the following

1. The Electro-Magnetic Recording Telegraph. This involved
the fillet of paper moving by clock-work with uniform velocity
under the lever-pen, rising and falling at measured intervals, con
trolled by the transmitting key operating the electro-magnet through
the opening and closing of the galvanic circuit. It included the
mathematical and mechanical conception of the combination of
dots, lines, and spaces, to stand for letters, whether recorded chem
ically or by pressure.

2. The combined series, or relay, which made it practical to
transmit from any station intelligence to any point, however far, and
to receive and record messages at the end, and at all intermediate
points, however numerous.

3. The first practical determination that the galvanic force
could be made actually operative through sufficiently great dis
tances without repetition, to render the recording telegraph a prac
tical success, suited to public use.

4. The electro-magnetic sounder, or acoustic semaphore, with
an alphabet corresponding to dots, lines, and spaces.

MORSE'S INSTRUMENTS. 585

5. The stopping apparatus, for controlling the movement of the
fillet of paper at a distant station through the key of the transmit
ting office.

6. The combination of the battery of Volta, improved by Dan-
iell ; the electro-magnet of Sturgeon ; the multiplied insulated coil,
and the battery of many pairs and long-conducting wire of Henry ;
and the single wire and earth circuit of Steinheil, with his own
writing and registering apparatus, including the key, lever-pen,
moving fillet of paper, stopping apparatus, and register-magnet;
his own alphabet of dots, lines, and spaces, and his own relay work
ing with an intensity battery — all proportioned and adjusted in a
harmonious whole of extreme simplicity, and adapted to practical
working for every-day public use.

7. He suggested to Arago, in 1839, the use of the 'electro
magnetic recording telegraph for determinations of longitude.

8. He was the first to lay a working submarine cable.

9. He is entitled to the further honor of having fought and con
quered the difficulties, scientific, pecuniary, material, and in the
way of legislation and litigation, which the effort to make the in
vention useful and successful encountered.

1. Professor Morse's first caveat was dated October 3, 1837;
first application for a patent April 7, 1838 ; patent granted June, 20,
1840; patent of June 20, 1840, was reissued January 15, 1846;
patent granted April 11, 1846 ; patent of June 20, 1840, reissued
June 13, 1848 ; patent granted May 1, 1849 ; patent of 1840 ex
tended in 1854 for seven years ; patent of April 11, 1846, extended
in 1860 for seven years.

2. The Morse Telegraph is employed (1874) in America upon
about 110,000 miles of line, and 250.000 miles of wire, and in for
eign countries upon about 200,000 miles of line, and upon 600,000
miles of wire. It is not much used upon long submarine lines ; Sir
William Thomson's Mirror Galvanometer being used as a receiving
instrument upon all long submarine circuits.

3. The total Telegraph receipts throughout the world (in 1874)
are about $40,000,000 per annum. The total number of messages
is about 75,000,000.

4. The Morse Telegraph apparatus and alphabet now used in
the United States are the same, and in Europe are substantially
the same, as invented by him. Receiving by sound is the general

5gg LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

practice in America, and receiving on paper in Europe. As a rule,
the Morse's ink-writer has superseded the embossing instrument in
England and on the Continent of Europe.

5. The principal improvements applied to the Morse system are,
the Repeater, through the use of which messages may be sent over
distances ranging from 500 to 10,000 miles without rewriting, and
the Duplex apparatus, invented by Joseph B. Stearns, of Boston,
for the transmission of two messages in opposite directions, over
one wire, at the same time. This latter invention, which is the
greatest addition made to telegraphy since the great invention of
Professor Morse, is now successfully operated throughout the
United States, the Canadas, Great Britain, and Ireland, and is
being introduced upon the Continent of Europe.

6. In England the Post-Office Telegraph continues to use a
variety of systems of telegraphs, although the bulk of the traffic is
performed by the Morse apparatus. Of the 8,284 instruments in
use there, 3,582 are Wheatstone needle instruments, 2,367 Wheat-
stone's ABC, 394 Bright's bell, 98 Wheatstone's automatic, 23
Hughes's letter-printing^ and 1,720 Morse ink-writers and sounder.
On the Continent of Europe 12,938 Morse apparatus are employed,
against 508 Hughes's letter-printing, and 2,529 telegraph instru
ments of all other kinds !

TELEGRAPH COMPANIES IN THE UNITED STATES.

Within the first seven years of the operations of Morse's
Telegraph, there were more than fifty separate organizations 'in
the United States in actual' existence at the same time. In the
year 1851 a few of them were consolidated under one manage
ment. Still, the great number of separate lines in operation pre
vented that unity and dispatch in conducting the business so es
sential to its success, and the public failed to secure everywhere
the benefits of direct and reliable communication. Telegraphic
correspondence between the Eastern, Western, and Southern
sections, was not only burdened with several tariffs, but with un
necessary delays. Messages under this system required copying
and retransmission at the termini of each local line, and this
process not only occupied time, but was frequently the cause of
errors, which rendered the service of little value. The Western
Union Telegraph Company was originally organized as the New
York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company, on

WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY. 587

the 1st of April, 1851, for the purpose of building a line from
Buffalo, New York, to St. Louis, Missouri. On the 30th of
March, 1854, they purchased the lines of the Lake Erie Tele
graph Company, extending from Buffalo to Detroit, and from
Cleveland to Pittsburg ; and, on the 29th of April, 1854, se
cured control of the lines of the Cleveland and Cincinnati, the
Cincinnati and St. Louis, and the Ohio Telegraph Companies.
The Western Union gradually swallowed up more and more of
the various lines, until, in twenty years, it effected a complete
unification of the great majority of the telegraph-lines in the
United States, and rendered the system the most extensive and
efficient in the world. The territory now occupied by the lines
of this company embraces almost the entire civilized portion of
the Continent of North America. On the eastern coast its lines
extend from Plaister Cove, on the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, to
Brownsville, on the Rio Grande ; and, on the western coast,
from San Diego, California, to the fisheries on the Kishyox
River, eight hundred miles north of New Westminster, British
Columbia. They reach across the continent, from the Atlantic
to the Pacific Ocean, and embrace every State and Territory in
the Union. The consolidations which have resulted in the
Western Union connect with the British provinces, and by the
Cuba and the Atlantic cables with the wrhole world. The man
agement of this immense organization is in the hands of Wil
liam Orton, Esq., president of the company, a gentleman of
great executive ability, whose administration has given to this
company a success without a parallel in the history of tele
graphic enterprise. The accomplished electrician of the com
pany, George B. Prescott, Esq., has charge of all matters of a
scientific or technical character pertaining to the service, includ
ing the investigation of new inventions in telegraphy, and from
time to time authorizes such changes and modifications of the
instruments, insulators, and other parts of the apparatus, as to
enable the company to fully keep pace with the progress of dis
covery.

In the report of the Western Union Telegraph Company to
its stockholders, 1869, the following testimony is borne to the
superiority of the invention of Professor Morse, and its practical
indorsement by other companies :

5^8 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOESE.

" Nearly all the machinery employed by the company belongs
to the Morse system. This telegraph, indeed, is now used almost
< .rt'lttsicely every where , and the time will probably never come when
it will cease to be the leading system of the world. Of more than
a hundred devices that have been made to supersede it, not one has
succeeded in accomplishing its purpose, and it is used at the pres
ent time upon more than ninety-five per cent, of all the telegraph
lines in existence. The almost universal use of this apparatus is
due to its simplicity and peculiar adaptability to the telegraphic
traffic of every country. It employs electro-magnetism in the sim
plest form ; and its alphabet, when produced at a distance through
the aid of the electric current, is read with equal facility by sight
and sound, and can be readily interpreted by two of the other

Thus have we seen, in the rapid review of this chapter, that
the invention of Professor Morse, by the decision of the most
competent scientists, and the highest judicial tribunals, is distinct
and different from all others that claim priority to his, and by
the more practical and absolutely impartial and irreversible ver
dict of use^ its superiority is attested by ninety-five out of every
hundred telegraph-lines on the face of the earth ! More than
one hundred devices have been made to supersede it ; not one
lias succeeded in accomplishing its purpose. This fact is stronger
proof than the arguments of counsel, the opinions of judges, or
the claims of science, and renders it certain that in all future ages
the present Recording Telegraph will be recognized as exclu
sively the invention of MORSE.

CHAPTEK XY*.

184:7-1854. REST AND REWARDS.

A HOME AT LAST — PUECHASE OF A COUNTRY-SEAT AND FARM AT POUGH-
KEEPSIE — MARRIAGE — SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC LIFE — LOVE OF NATURE —
BIRDS — HIS NEIGHBORS' ESTEEM — LETTER TO HIS DAUGHTER — REMBRANDT
PEALE VISITS MORSE — LETTER OF BENSON J. LOSSING — HOUSE IN THE CITY

OF NEW YORK — LETTER TO ARAGO — ADOPTION OF THE MORSE SYSTEM BY
THE GERMAN CONVENTION — EXTENSION INTO DENMARK, SWEDEN, RUSSIA,
AND AUSTRALIA — HONORARY DISTINCTIONS AND TESTIMONIALS — SCIEN
TIFIC BODIES — YALE COLLEGE — FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.

UP to this time, 1847, Mr. Morse had never enjoyed a
home since in youth he left his father's house. For
brief periods, at intervals, he had found rest under the pater
nal roof, and after his first marriage he established his family
in New Haven ; but his own occupations were elsewhere,
and he was only an occasional visitor, where he desired to be
at home. His letters to his wife, were full of ardent long
ings for the time when he should be no longer an exile. His
domestic attachments were intense, and the separation from his
family in the highest degree painful. After the death of his
wife, when his children were scattered, the sense of desolation
was greater still. He was a stranger everywhere. Poverty
forbade him to have a home. When the Telegraph began to
yield him a moderate income with the prospect of indefinite
increase, he sought without delay for a spot where he might
gather his children around him, and at last enjoy the luxury of
his own house. He was now fifty-six years old. It was high
time that he found a home if he would have one on earth.
He consulted with his brothers and other friends as to the loca
tion. His brother Richard wrote to him : " Wherever we set-

590

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

tie ourselves, obligations of a social and religious character will
be imposed upon us. Our children must have as good institu
tions as we have enjoyed. Our standard of religious habits and
conduct must be as high as in the best parts of -New England."
His attention was directed to a place near Poughkeepsie, on the
eastern bank of the Hudson River, in Dutchess County and
State of New York, about seventy-five miles north of the city.
Here he purchased aj>out two hundred acres of land. A farm
house on it was his abode while he completed a mansion adapted
to his wants, his tastes, and his means. He gave to the place
the name of " Locust Grove," not knowing that it had borne the
same name in former years. There he gathered his children and
their children, and for the first time knew what it was to have a
house and home of his own. In the year following this pur
chase he was married to Miss Sarah E. Griswold, the daughter
of his cousin. She was born December 25, 1 822, at Fort Brady,
Sault St. Mary's, at the foot of Lake Superior. Her father was
an officer in the IL S. Army. Her grandfather was Arthur
Breese, Esq., of Utica, New York, and her grandmother was
Catharine Livingston, of Poughkeepsie. After his marriage
Professor Morse discovered that the place he had purchased had
once been the property of his wife's great-grandfather, who had
called his place " Locust Grove." Her grandmother, Catharine
Livingston, when a child, had fallen into the well, near the old
cottage, and was rescued by the nurse, who descended into' the
well by the bucket, and saved the life of the girl. When the
child grew up and was engaged to be married to Arthur Breese,
she was wont to stand beneath an immense oak-tree and with
her handkerchief wave a welcome to her, lover as he came up
the river on a sloop, which was then the mode of travel up and
down the Hudson. This tree was called the "Breese tree,"
and stood there until within a few years, when it was unhappily
destroyed by a stroke of lightning. A spacious and beautiful
house, in the style of an Italian villa, being finished, Mr. Morse
removed from the cottage, and in the midst of his family and
friends sat down to the enjoyment of that rest and peace which
had hitherto been denied him. His business affairs were in
the hands of a trusted, faithful, and able agent, and he fondly
hoped that they would be conducted without his care. But

HOME ON THE HUDSON. 591

so wide-spread had become the relations of the Telegraph in
the affairs of the country and the world, it was necessary for
him to be constantly on the alert for the protection of his
own interests, and to defeat the arts of those who sought to
deprive him of the fame as well as the fortune which he had
fairly won. The battle of life was only begun when he thought
it was ended and the victory secure. His correspondence with
Mr. Kendall was incessant and voluminous. The lawsuits in
which he was compelled to engage required of him a vast amount
of personal labor, preparing argument and illustration, searching
and arranging testimony, and meeting the objections which the
selfishness, the envy, or the ignorance of his opponents inter
posed to rob him of his due.

The retirement of his place on the Hudson was favorable
to study, and his habits of industry were such that he made
the most of his time. Into a large and beautiful library he
brought all the fruits of science and art that would aid him in
his inquiries, and with plodding perseverance he worked as
steadily in his age and leisure, as when struggling under the
burden of poverty to bring out his great invention. The wires
of the Telegraph that connected Poughkeepsie with New York,
passed near his house, and by-and-by one of them was led into
his library ! Here, with the instrument of his own invention on
the table at his right hand, he sat and conversed at his ease with
friends and correspondents in distant parts of the land ! As
years rolled on, and these wires wrere stretched still farther, and
by-and-by beneath the ocean to foreign shores, making a reality
of every prophecy he had uttered when wise men thought him
deluded or mad, he still sat in his chair, in his own house in the
country, far from the city and the sea, and, when he would, he
could speak to men in Europe as if they were in an adjoining
room ! He believed he would, when he was in the ship Sully in
1832. He said he would, when he was in his garret in 1837.
It was done in the year 1866. Nothing in the history of human
progress is more sublime and beautiful than this ! Never were
the visions of imagination, the calculations of reason, and the
deductions of science, more completely and practically accom
plished within the lifetime of the seer, the philosopher, and the

592

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Identifying himself as a neighbor, a citizen, and Christian,
with the community of which he had now became a member,
he bore the responsibilities, discharged the duties, and enjoyed
the pleasures of his new position with earnestness, ability, and
zest. His hand and heart were always open to every good work,
and his fellow-citizens delighted to know him as a model of
every manly and generous virtue. William H. Crosby, Esq., of
Poughkeepsie, in a note to the author, speaks of Professor
Morse in these just and graceful words :

" His quiet, unostentatious life, among us, displayed no promi
nent incidents that would find employment for the pen of a biog
rapher, while at the same time it was sufficiently marked to reveal
to all, who were thown into his company, the liberal, kind-hearted,
courteous, unpresuming, Christian gentleman. Though his name
was blazed abroad in every land as that of one whose invention had
been the source of so many blessings to his fellow-creatures, though
crowned heads had vied with each other in loading him with hon
ors, no pride nor arrogance displayed itself in his social intercourse ;
on the contrary, his whole conduct and conversation proved him
to be actuated by the spirit of his first electric and electrifying
message, and to be ever ready to give to God all the glory. His
house was a place of delightful resort, and his uniform kindness
and courtesy to his visitors, of whatever rank or station, coupled
with an easy dignity of manners, always left upon their minds the
impression that they had been in the presence, if not of a brilliant,
yet of a truly great man. As wealth and honors poured in upon
him, his neighbors and friends found little or no change in his social
conduct, although his mode of life and style of equipage had kept
pace with the increase of his means. His liberality was not con
fined to the outlay of his purse. He was ever ready to do a kind
ness to a neighbor, even at the cost of great personal inconvenience
and toil. I will mention but one instance out of many of his self-
denying kindness. While riding into town one day his attention

was arrested by observing that the woods of Mrs. L were on fire,

and that, if not speedily extinguished, the mansion would be en
dangered. Regardless of his years, of the business that was taking
him to town, of the quality of his apparel, he sprang from his car
riage, and went to work with such a will that, with the assistance
of a few others, in a little while the danger was over. As my in
formant remarked, he worked harder and more efficiently than any

LETTER TO MRS. LIND. 593

common laborer on the ground. One striking characteristic of Pro
fessor Morse — and one which, no doubt, has already claimed your
attention — was his love of Nature, in all her varied aspects, and it
is probable that regret for the loss of those noble forest-trees min
gled with his kind feelings to a neighbor, and had its share in prompt
ing him to active exertion on the occasion above mentioned."

One of the many letters to his beloved daughter, Mrs. Lind,
residing in the West Indies, was written when, having completed
the payments on his estate, he was able to call it his own :

"LOCUST GROVE, May 14, 1848.

" I snatch a few moments, my dear Susan, to commence a letter
to you, and to thank you for your frequent and most acceptable let
ters. Locust Grove is now mine, that is to say, it is loaned to me
by our heavenly Father, just so long as he shall see fit to permit
us to enjoy it. I have paid off the bond and mortgage on the 1st
instant, and it is now free of incumbrance, but it has drained my
money-cistern quite dry. Economy, at all times and under all cir
cumstances right and proper, is now more than ever necessary. 1
have fresh attacks on my rights, and I am kept in a continual atti
tude of defense, and from so many quarters, that were it not for the
trust I have in him who has thus far carried me through difficulties
that seemed at the time perfectly insurmountable, I should almost
give up in despair so persevering and so reckless and vindictive
is the opposition that is made to me. Within a few weeks a new
and more threatening attack has come from the other side of the
water. Mr. Bain, a Scotchman, who has succeeded in England in
an ingenious piece of mechanism, has applied for a patent for a
mode of marking. It seems that it is the very mode which I first
devised on board the ship, applied in 1836, and in January, 1847, en
tered a caveat and applied for a patent at our Patent-Office in July
last. Mr. Bain has just applied for a patent for the same thing ; he
is allowed to go back in his proofs to the date of his English pat
ent, which is in December, 1846, about one month before my caveat.
I must prove my invention before that date (December, 1846), or
he gets his patent and I lose mine (the one last applied for). But,
I can prove priority, so that I think I shall defeat him. The
case comes on at Washington in July. Thus you see, my dear
children, my invention gives me little ease, and much vexation and
anxiety, or would, were it not that I can view all as ordered by a
kind and wise Father. If it is his will, he can continue to me the
38

594; LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

credit and the profits of the Telegraph, or I see that by unforeseen
incidents, easily brought about by infinite power, he can so throw a
cloud over both as to deprive me entirely of the latter, and tempo
rarily deprive me also of the former. If I use the influence and the
property he has bestowed, merely for selfish purposes, merely for
self-aggrandizement, and selfish pleasure, he will take them away if
I am a child of his, for he will not let these things interfere with my
eternal interest. I have been thinking much of the duties which
devolve on me in this juncture. I have wealth in stock, and now
what portion ought to be devoted sacredly to the cause of God ? I
have decided deliberately, and believe that I shall have the hearty
concurrence of my dear children, when I tell them that one-tenth is
the portion that must be set apart and consecrated to the cause of
Christian benevolence. All, indeed, should be consecrated to him,
but this must be a fund from which all applications for religious
benevolent objects are to be answered. Days of trial may come,
nay, will come, but, as our day is our strength will be, if we look
with steady faith for help in every time of need.

" You may judge, from what I have told you of my affairs, that
I have not much time to write. I leave in the morning for New
York and Washington, to look after matters and prepare for de
fense. With all the piracies and frauds upon me, I hope to save
enough to give my children a welcome reception in their father's
house at all times. Years are passing; age is on its way; how
long I may be spared I know not, but I am beginning to feel a
stronger desire than ever to have the society of my dear children."

His life in the country was very simple and quiet. His hour
of rising was half-past six o'clock in the morning, and he was in
his library alone until breakfast at eight. He loved to hear the
birds in their native songs, and he could distinguish the notes of
each species of birds, and would speak of the quality of their re
spective music. He spent most of the day in reading and
writing, rarely taking exercise, except walking in his garden to
visit his graperies, in which he took special pride; or to the
stables to see if his horses were well cared for. He did not
ride out regularly with his family, preferring the repose of his
own grounds and the labors of his study. But when he walked
>r rode in the country, he was constantly disposed to speak of
)eauty and glory around him, as revealing to his mind the

LOVE OF NATURE. 595

beneficence, wisdom, and power of the infinite Creator, who had
made all these things for the use and enjoyment of man. One
of his daughters writes of him in these simple and tender words :
" He loved flowers. He would take one in his hand, and talk
for hours about its beauty, its wonderful construction, and the
wisdom and love of God in making so many varied forms of
life and color to please our eyes. In his later years he became
deeply interested in the microscope, and purchased one of great
excellence and power. For whole hours, all the afternoon or
evening, he would sit over it, examining flowers, or the animal-
cula in different fluids. Then he would gather his children
about him and give us a sort of extempore lecture on the won
ders of creation, invisible to the naked eye, but so clearly
brought to view by the magnifying power of the microscope.
He was very fond of animals, cats and birds in particular. He
tamed a little flying-squirrel, and it became so fond of him that
it would sit on his shoulder while he was at his studies, and
would eat out of his hand and sleep in his pocket. To this little
animal he became so much attached that we took it with us to
Europe, where it came to an untimely end in Paris, by running
into an open fire."

Years passed by in this delightful retreat, out of the world
but in it, so in it and of it that every day, and if needs be every
hour or moment, brought to him intelligence of what was trans
piring in his own country and in distant lands. He had but to
touch the keys of the instrument at his side, and he had the
attention of far-away friends with wiiom he was in instant com
munion. He had filled the earth with a new nervous system
that responded to his touch in every part, as if it were a living,
sensitive being. He dispensed a generous hospitality, which was
enjoyed by his friends, and not seldom by strangers who came
from distant countries and desired to make the acquaintance of
a man whose fame was now as extensive as civilization itself.
The companions of his early years, who were with him in his
contests with the world, delighted to see him in the evening of
his days, prosperous, honored, and happy. Benson J. Lossing,
Esq., the historian of the American Revolution, and a resident
of Poughkeepsie, has furnished a sketch of an interview which
he enjoyed with Professor Morse and the distinguished artist,

596 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

KEMBKANDT PEALE. Mr. Lossing sliall speak with his pen and
pencil :

MORSE AND PEALE.

" THE RIDGE, DOVER PLAINS, N. Y., April, 1873.

" You ask me to unfold into a record the hint I gave you the
other day about a notable picture. Memory always recalls that
picture with delight. It was a marvelous grouping of landscape
and figures by the pencil of God, in forms and colors of exquisite
beauty and interest. It was a midsummer evening scene. Oberon
and Titania, Puck and Peas-Blossom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustard-
seed, were all there among the shrubs and flowers, for it was the
home of a great magician — a conjurer more potent than the King
of the Fairies. He had conquered Saturn and Neptune, and his
chief minister had already gone out to l put a girdle round the earth
in forty minutes.'

" The time was toward sunset. The place was a beautiful coun
try-seat on the banks of the Hudson. The grounds and the out
look from them formed the landscape. Green lawns, neat hedges,
beds of gay flowers, and graveled paths, with aged men, accom
plished women, and young children on them, composed the fore
ground. These were on the verge of a plateau a hundred feet
above the river. There stood magnificent trees which had been
young denizens of the primal forest, perhaps, when the Mohican
hunted among them. From their huge stems shadows stretched
many a perch eastward in the slanting sunbeams. Beyond these
giants, westward, abrupt and gentle slopes bowed to the lowly
meadows, wedded to the broken crags which skirted the margin of
the river. Beyond the shining waters, wooded precipices arose
among golden wheat-fields ; and, far away on the northwestern ho
rizon, slumbered in misty azure the lofty Catskill Mountains. The
singing-birds were nearly all silent, for it was July ; but the throat
of the swamp-robin sent its clear notes far away through the vistas.

" The chief figures in the group were two -old men. They had
been friends in their younger days, but had not seen each other's
faces in forty years. They had been pupils of Benjamin West at
the Royal Academy in England, one of them half a century before
this meeting ; and their countrymen were proud of the achievements
of both in art and science. One was in the eighty-second year of
his age; the other was on the verge of seventy. The elder was
quite erect in figure, handsome in features, with eyes of mildest
blue, the complexion of a young woman, a sweet voice, and was

REMBRANDT, PEALE, AND MORSE. 597

wearing a crown of'flowing white locks. The younger was tall and
slender, lithe in limb, with dark, magnetic eyes, benevolence beam
ing from his face, and a long white beard covering his bosom. The
elder was REMBRANDT PEALE, who had painted a portrait of Wash
ington from the living man. The younger was Professor MORSE,
then (1859) at the zenith of his fame.

" Mr. Peale and his wife (an accomplished artist, full thirty years
his junior) were spending a few days with us at Poughkeepsie.
6 Locust Grove,' the country-seat of Professor Morse, the scene of
the picture, is about two miles below that city. We rode down
there with our guests toward the close of a summer day ; and at
the ' artist's hour,' when the shadows are long and thick, we strolled
about the grounds and saw the beautiful vision so dear to memory.

" It was delightful to hear those venerable men, as they walked
among the flowers, call up recollections of the past. Peale was
with West ten years before Morse became that master's favorite
pupil ; and Peale's father had been West's pupil thirty years before
his son entered his studio.

" They talked of the venerable Copley, with whom the elder
Peale had studied, in Boston ; of his sweet though wrinkled face,
and tender eyes, and kindly manner. ' He was like a father to
me while I was in London,' said Peale. c A Tory in America, he
was a republican in England. He said to me one day, " I was the
first to display the American standard in England, after the inde
pendence of the United States was acknowledged by this govern
ment." " How and where ? " I asked. " On my easel," he replied,
" as part of the back-ground to a portrait of your countryman, El-
kanah Watson. It was painted on the day when the king sanc
tioned the acknowledgment.' "

" * To me,' Morse said, ' Copley was a mentor in art. His dying
hand and feeble voice helped me in professional difficulties on sev
eral occasions while in London. He was then painting his last
picture — the portrait of his son, who was created Lord Lyndhurst
in 1827.'

" They talked of Northcote, whose bold aquiline nose, lustrous
eyes," and bald head, were notable at a chop-house in Cheapside,
where he dined at five o'clock in the afternoon, and whose pictures
were annually a conspicuous part of the exhibition at Somerset
House.

" Of pale little Flaxman, the classic sculptor, they spoke tender
ly. His genius claimed their admiration, but his goodness was their

598

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

favorite theme, fpr his abounding piety was like a fragrant blossom,
ever exhaling pure delight. They talked graciously of handsome
Sir Thomas Lawrence, the ' painter to the king,' and the favorite of
the ladies as a limner of feminine portraits, for he made the plain
est appear attractive. They had mutual reminiscences of the irri
table and excitable Fuseli (the intimate friend of Lavater, and the
originator of Alderman Boydell's ' Shakespeare Gallery '), who was
appointed Keeper of the Royal Academy at about the time when
Peale left London for Paris in 1804.

" ' He often looked over my shoulder,' said Peale, c while I was
at work, and criticised my drawing; and whenever he saw a glar
ing error, he would fly into a passion, declare I was an unworthy
son of a worthy father, and end by inviting me to sup with him at
his lodgings in a back room in Ivy Lane.'

" ' I well remember the waspish Switzer,' Morse said. c He was
a bundle of paradoxes. Learned, yet ignorant ; a good artist, with
glaring faults ; quarrelsome, but placable ; always scolding, yet al
ways kind-hearted. He would reproach President West for some
fancied remissness in duty, and with the next breath declare that
he was the most faithful man he knew. We all laughed at his
storms and enjoyed his sunshine. West said to me gravely one
day, after Fuseli's tongue had run its course : " I verily believe the
good man (then seventy-four years of age) does not desire to go to
heaven, because he may find no occasion there . for storming ; he
would not endure the eternal serenity that prevails in the Land of
the Blest."'

" Concerning our own artists who were their contemporaries,
these venerable men exchanged opinions freely. They spoke most
kindly of the blunt, erratic Stuart, under whose rugged exterior
beat a heart of sweetest nature. The memory of the ethereal All-
ston they cherished with the devotion of worshipers, and confirmed
the verdict of contemporary critics, that in coloring he was justly
styled the ' American Titian.' Trumbull, as an artist and a man,
was not spoken of in terms of admiration ; but of the genial, err
ing Jarvis, the generous Inman, and the noble Sully, they talked
lovingly. Concerning the irascible and soured bachelor, Vanderlyn,
they uttered words of mingled praise as an artist and pity as a man.

" I was particularly interested in listening to their estimate of
the painters who have filled the eight panels in the rotunda of the
national Capitol with historical pictures. They were agreed in the
opinion that Weir's picture of the « Embarkation of the Pilgrims '

THE OLD PAINTERS. 599

is the best among them as a work of art, history, and sentiment.
They regarded Trumbull's four pictures as works of great intrinsic
value, because of the portraits. Chapman's ' Marriage of Pocahon-
tas ' they considered more pleasing to the less- cultivated popular
taste than to the judgment of the skilled art-critic. Vanderlyn's
' Landing of Columbus ' seemed to them to be weak, and Powell's
4 De Soto on the Mississippi ' as a good painting, but an historical
improbability in its composition.

" But I will not weary you with further details of my recollec
tions of their conversation upon art themes and social memories.
For forty years these eminent Americans had been pursuing their
respective courses in life, within a few leagues of each other, but
without meeting face to face in all that time. The elder, gentle,
quiet, timid, unassuming, lacking in self-assertion, and eminently
good in all the relations of life, had moved almost noiselessly along
the flowery pathways of art, and was then near the end of his long
journey, for he died in the early autumn of the next year. The
younger was more actively ambitious and restless, tenacious of his
rights, and quick to assert and defend them ; but he was patient,
plodding, persevering, modest, and eminently good. He had, by
his achievements, made the whole earth, as it were, resonant with
his praises, for he had answered affirmatively the great question put
by God to the Chaldean emir, c Canst thou send lightnings, that
they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are ? ' He had trained
for the intellectual uses of man that subtile { soul of the universe '
to which the prophet of Twickenham alluded when he wrote :

' It warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze,
Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees ;
Lives through all life, extends through all extent,
Spreads undivided, operates unspent.'

" The men, the landscape, the hour, made a picture which will
never fade from memory. We returned home in the evening twi
light, with hearts full of thanksgiving for the opportunity we had
enjoyed. Yours faithfully,

" BENSON J. LOSSING."

In the home to wliicli his heart had so fondly turned in all
the years of his struggles with poverty, and the severer contests
with those who sought to deprive him of his rewards, the life
of Professor Morse was now tranquilly flowing. Several years
after his purchase in Poughkeepsie, he bought a large and beau-

600

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

tif ill house, No. 5 West Twenty-second Street, in the city of
New York. On a vacant lot adjoining, he erected an elegant
building for his library and study. Here he established his
winter residence. Among his papers, found after his death, is a
prayer which he wrote and used on the occasion of entering
upon possession of his house in town. It was in the central
part of the city, adjacent to Madison Square, and it soon be
came the frequent resort of the learned and the good, who
sought the society of the now famous inventor, recognized as a
great public benefactor. But for the vexatious lawsuits that
for several years disturbed his peace, the life of the retired phi
losopher would have been as pleasant as the former years had
been dark and stormy. But he was reminded constantly that
this world was not his rest ; and he took things as they came,
in the firm persuasion that all would be well in the end. His
correspondence with men of science at home and abroad in
creased rapidly and greatly. His letters during these years of
rest indicate the progress of the Telegraph, and his own pur
suits. Writing to Arago in 1851, he said :

" At this moment my system of telegraphing comprises about
fifteen thousand English miles of conductors on this continent.
How far the essential parts of my system have been adopted in
Europe and Asia, I am unable to say. In Russia, it has been inti
mated to me that it is in operation; and at Constantinople the
Sublime Porte has it in operation between two of his military
schools. Making all due allowance for the partiality naturally felt
for one's own offspring, may I not say that the Recording Telegraph
is the most efficient as well as simplest form of the Telegraph yet in
vented ? It ought to be noticed, as a striking peculiarity of my sys
tem, that the sound given out by the lever in recording is as readily
understood by a practised ear as the recorded characters are by the
eye. Many, and indeed most, of the operators read from the sound
only, and many will thus read long dispatches, while every one un
derstands, when his station is called, as readily as if spoken to by
the human voice. There is a practical advantage in this talking
hourly experienced in every telegraph-office on the lines. This
characteristic of voice connected with recording, has led me to
designate the principle of my invention as Telegraphic Speech by
Electricity— speech comprehending intelligible sounds and written

DR. JACKSON EXPOSED. 601

marks. The Recording Telegraph, as a distinct genus, I have ever
claimed as my invention. There was no Recording Telegraph pre
vious to the invention of mine ; and it is this function, par excel
lence, to wit, ' recording] that gives to it both its peculiarity and
great efficiency. ... As a commercial enterprise, telegraph stock in
the Morse lines has paid valuable dividends. Their business has
lately been embarrassed by temporary and local causes not aifect-
ing the merits of the invention, but mainly in consequence of the
attempts to compete with and to supplant by rival modes.

" A brochure, entitled « Full Exposure of Dr. Charles T. Jack
son's Pretensions to the Invention of the American Electro-Magnetic
Telegraph,' was sent to you and to the Academy some time since
at my request. The brochure was prepared from the evidence be
fore the courts, by the Hon. Amos Kendall, formerly Postmaster-
General of the United States. Much more, indeed, is admitted as
fact, in this expose in favor of Jackson's pretensions, than truth will
warrant. I never met with a case of such reckless disregard of
truth as this of Dr. Jackson's. He is not sustained by any witness
in a single important assertion. The only explanation which can
be given that shall not implicate his moral character is monomania,
and to this misfortune I have been Billing, with many of his friends,
to attribute his conduct, provided I ma^ have the benefit which is
usually accorded to the sane, of protection against the insane.

" I have not learned that the Academy of Sciences has ever
passed a decision upon the subject of Electric Telegraphs. While
anxious, of course, that justice should be done to me and to my
country, by a tribunal to whose decisions the civilized world does
willing homage, I yet desire that equal justice should be accorded
to those distinguished discoverers of principles in science, of what
ever country, without which the inventor would lack the materials
for his invention."

In the month of October, 1851, a convention of deputies
from the German states of Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, Wurtem-
berg, and Saxony, met at Vienna to establish a German- Austrian
Telegraphic Union. The various systems of telegraphy then in
use were subjected to the most thorough examination aud dis
cussion, by men well qualified to illustrate the principles of the
several plans. They reached the conclusion with great unanim
ity that the American (or Morse system) was the only one to
meet their wants. Professor Steinheil, the administrator-in-

602

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

chief of the Austrian telegraphs, although himself the inventor of
an electric telegraph, which has procured for him well-deserved
fame, with a magnanimity which does him high honor, gave his
opinion in favor of adopting the American system in Germany.
This was to Professor Morse a most gratifying fact. In the
Jawsuits involving his rights, great stress had been laid upon
the Steinheil invention as something anterior to Morse's ; but
Steinheil himself never made such pretensions, and freely sup
ported Morse's system as having advantages superior to his own.
And by the same steamer that brought this gratifying intelli
gence, the inventor received the news that it had been decided
in the Denmark House of Representatives that the Electric Tele
graph, in continuation of the German lines, should be immediate
ly extended from Elsinore, via Copenhagen, to Jtendsberg.

Extract from the Protocol of the Convention of Deputies from
the German Governments which met at Vienna in the month of
October, 1851, for the establishment of a German-Austrian Tele
graphic Union, etc., etc. :

"Articles 2 and 3. — The Governments of this Union give their
mutual assurance to bring into operation, at the latest, on the
1st of July, 1852, the direct transmission of telegraphic communi
cations between the central stations of the respective governments,
so that transfers upon intermediate stations will be no longer re
quired, whenever the lines are not previously occupied, so that each
of the central stations can enter into direct communication with
every other. To accomplish this, all the Governments of the Tele
graph Union adopt for the International Correspondence upon each
line, for the present, MORSE'S TELEGRAPH, with receiving magnets,
registers, and uniform alphabet"

In August, 1854, Mr. Fleischmann, who had introduced the
Telegraph into Austria, wrote from Paris to Professor Morse :

"I saw this day the agent of the submarine Telegraph between
England and France, and he told me that they came to the conclu
sion to adopt Morse's Telegraph in preference to any known and
tried system. They have experimented with your system and find
t the most perfect. They have already some of your machines
working, and the French Government is about to adopt it also.

•o much for you and your glory. My prediction comes to pass—

Morse's Telegraph must be universally adopted.' "

ADOPTION IN AUSTRALIA. 603

And Professor Morse, inclosing Mr. F.'s letter to his friend
T. E. Walker, Esq., of Utica, said :

" My Telegraph system, as you may be aware,, had been pre
viously adopted throughout all Germany, and extended into Den
mark, Sweden, and lately into Russia. It has been introduced also
by choice of the government throughout Australia, and in Europe
the only countries not using my system were England and France.
The facts, therefore, revealed by the inclosed letter, show that with
out any aid of an extrinsic character on my part, my system, from its
own inherent qualities, is pervading the globe, and this in my own
lifetime. I believed from the beginning that this would eventually
be the case, but I did not dream of its so rapid accomplishment ;
I did not expect to live to see its diffusion over the whole world.
So far as it regards England, I confess to having had some skepti
cism on the fact of her doing away with her own systems and ac
knowledging an American one better than her own. ' Can any good
thing come out of Nazareth?' has been her uniform question re
garding any thing American ; but in confirmation of the fact that
she is actually about to adopt my system, not only on her submarine
lines, but also 011 her other lines, I have the authority of a gentle
man, a member of the Royal Society and secretary of the Great
English Company, whom I met in New York last week, that this is
the fact ; and he assured me that in England the opinion was rife
that my system would supersede all the others as the simplest and
best. This is gratifying, after all the injustice at home and abroad
which I have been called to endure."

HONOKAKY DISTINCTIONS.

As the Morse system of telegraphing made its way into
foreign lands, readily demonstrating its superiority, and super
seding other systems, the merit of the inventor was acknowl
edged by one and another government, until it may be safely
asserted that Professor Morse received a greater number of
honorary distinctions from foreign powers than were ever be
stowed upon any other private citizen. Before he became gen
erally known as the inventor of the Telegraph he was (Decem
ber 25, 1835) elected a corresponding member of the Historical
Institute of France.

January 12, 1837, he was elected a member of the Royal
Academy of Fine Arts of Belgium. The certificate of this

604

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

election he preserved with a care that reveals his secret love for
distinction in the line of his first pursuit, in which he would
gladly have passed his life.

July 15, 1839, the Great Silver Medal of the " Academy of
Industry " of Paris was voted to him, for his invention of the
Telegraph. This medal he never received.

October 12, 1841, he was made a corresponding member of
the National Institution for the Promotion of Science, estab
lished at Washington.

October 18, 1842, a record was made by the American In
stitute, showing the use of the submarine Telegraph by Profess
or Morse in 1842, and on the 20th day of the same month the
thanks of the Institute were voted to him for placing at the dis
posal of the Institute his Telegraph to communicate between the
Battery and Governor's Island, and the Gold Medal of the In
stitute was awarded to him for his successful experiments.

June 12, 1845, he was elected a corresponding member of
the Archaeological Society of Belgium ; April 21, 1848, a mem
ber of the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia ; No
vember 14, 1849, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences, Boston.

Foreign distinctions were afterward conferred on Professor
Morse in great numbers and in the most flattering terms, but
none gave him more pleasure than the reception of the follow
ing letter from the wise and good man who also gave him his
first lessons in the science of electricity :

"YALE COLLEGE, August 27, 1846.

" DEAR SIR : Permit me to inform you that the corporation of
this college, at our late public commencement, conferred on you
the degree of Doctor of Laws. College distinctions, I am aware, are
becoming very common in this country. But Yale College aims to
proceed on the principle of selecting those who will confer honor,
rather than receive it, by being enrolled in the list of its favorites.
We present you this testimony of our regard, as a tribute of respect
and gratitude for what you have done to obviate the reproach which
we sometimes hear, that discoveries and inventions of great public
utility do not proceed from men who have imbibed the principles of
their education within the walls of a college. I have the honor to be,
with affectionate regard, your friend and servant, J. DAY.

"Professor S. F. B. MORSE, LL. D."

DOCTOR OF LAWS. 605

Professor Morse acknowledged the receipt of this honor in
these words :

" Permit me to return, through you, my sincere thanks to the
honorable corporation for the high honor they have conferred upon
me at the late commencement, in bestowing upon me the degree of
Doctor of Laws. I esteem it doubly valuable as emanating from
my much-loved and venerated alma mater. In the success with
which it has pleased God to crown my telegraphic invention, it is
not the least gratifying circumstance that you consider the inven
tion as reflecting credit on my collegiate instruction, and I may
therefore say that, in reviewing the mental processes by which I
arrived at the final result, I can distinctly trace them back to their
incipiency, in the lessons of my esteemed instructors in natural
philosophy and in chemistry. Later developments in electro-mag
netism in the lectures of Professor J. F. Dana were, indeed, the
more immediate sources whence I drew much of my material, but
this was dependent for its efficacy on my earlier college instruction.
Be pleased to accept my sincere thanks for the flattering and
friendly manner in which you have communicated to me the act of
the corporation. In common with all the friends of learning, I sin
cerely deplore the necessity, which you conceive to exist, of your
resignation of the presidency of the college over whose interests
you have so long watched. May the blessing of God accompany
you in your retirement ! "

TURKEY. — March 1, 1848, the Hon. John P. Brown, drago
man of the United States, addressed a letter to the American
Oriental Society, relating the incidents of an exhibition of Pro
fessor Morse's Telegraph before the Sultan of Turkey, and the
remarkable results that followed :

" I do myself the pleasure," he said, " to subjoin herewith a
copy of a diploma, called in Turkish a berait, bestowing upon Pro
fessor Morse, of New York, a decoration (or nichan) of honor, to
gether with a translation of it into English. As this is the first and
only decoration which the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire has con
ferred upon a citizen of the United States, it struck me, when trans
lating it for the legation, that some account of it would not prove
uninteresting to our Society. There is a young American in the
service of the Sultan, as a geologist, etc., Dr. James Lawrence
Smith, who was sent out here, by the present Hon. Secretary of

606 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE.

State, at the request of the Sultan, made through me during the
absence of the Minister Resident. This gentleman, who stands
high here in his profession, and has already been able to render the
Sultan some important services, being desirous of procuring some
thing from the United States which would be entirely new to his
Majesty, and of scientific interest to him, sent for a specimen of
the electric telegraph, as perfected by our celebrated countryman
Mr. Morse. On its arrival here, the Minister Resident confided its
presentation to 'the Sultan to my care and management ; and, hav
ing soon afterward an occasion to see his Majesty, I embraced it to
inform him of the desire of Dr. Smith to have the honor of exhibit
ing the telegraph before him. The Sultan immediately named the
following day for receiving it ; and Dr. Smith, kindly aided by Rev.
C. Hamlin, of the Armenian Seminary at Bebek, who, to use his
own words, lent his assistance on the occasion con amore, accompa
nied me to the palace of the Sultan at Beglerbey, on the Asiatic
shore of the Bosporus. The wires were stretched from the prin
cipal entrance of the palace to its union with the harem, a distance
of some thirty or forty paces, and the performers were completely
concealed from each other by the angle of a door-way, so that, had
the Sultan been disposed to doubt the reality of the powers of the
instrument, it would nevertheless have been evident to him, that
the operators communicated with each other only by means of its
wires. The Sultan was attended by his own personal employe's
and domestic officers. He was in excellent spirits, and treated us
all with the amiableness and graciousness of disposition for which
he is much beloved by all who have the honor of approaching him.
I may here add for your information that the Sultan, now about
twenty-six years of age, is of middle stature, rather lightly built}
and thin, simple in his manners, with dark eyes and beard, and a
face slightly marked with the small-pox ; and, though he has but
little of the dignified air supposed to belong to all sovereigns, his
countenance indicates that his feelings all partake of the most pure
benevolence and generosity. Indeed, it is quite impossible to con
verse with his Majesty, and not be forcibly struck with the evidence,
in his own demeanor and personal conduct, of the immense change
which has taken place in this country, and particularly in the char
acter of its sovereigns, in the course of the past century, or even
half century. The exhibition of Mr. Morse's telegraph, on this oc
casion, was perfectly successful and" much to the satisfaction of the
young Sultan, who remarked that he had often heard of the wonder-

TURKISH DECORATION. 607

ful invention, but had never been able until then to comprehend its
nature, I am happy to say that his Majesty understood very well the
properties of the electric fluid, and, perceiving that the alphabet used
(which I had explained in Turkish) was a purely conventional one,
composed a few letters himself, which he desired to have used. So
much was he gratified with the exhibition, that he requested me, in
a very kind manner, to leave the telegraph as it was, and come
again on the following day, saying he would send invitations to
all his ministers and other officers to assemble, on the following
morning, to witness its operations. I remarked, during this inter
view with the Sultan, that those about him were quite at their ease,
and conversed freely with him. He addressed several questions to
me about the United States, and its war with Mexico, expressing
great regret that there should ever be a necessity for war. On the
following morning, all the officers of the Government, from the
Grand- Vizier and the Sheik-ul-Islam down, assembled at the pal
ace ; and Dr. Smith and Rev. Mr. Hamlin again worked the tele
graph with entire success. Some of those present, such as the
Grand- Vizier, Reshid Pasha, formerly ambassador at London and
Paris, Ali Effendi, now Pasha, also formerly ambassador at Lon
don, and Sarim Pasha, Minister of Finance, formerly ambassador at
London, had already seen electric telegraphs in those places. All,
however, seemed much pleased with that of Mr. Morse. I was then
consulted by the secretary of the Sultan about offering a recom
pense to Dr. Smith, for his trouble in procuring the telegraph from
the United States. The doctor, to whom, of course, the matter was
left, generously disclaimed all desire of receiving any thing for him
self, as he had simply sent for the telegraph, and the honor of ex-
bibiting it before the Sultan was all he wished. He requested that
whatever honor the Sultan was disposed to confer upon him might
be given to the talented inventor of the telegraph ; and I took oc
casion to recommend this to the secretary, as a course which would
do honor both to the Sultan as a patron of science, and to Mr. Morse
as a person of distinguished talents. The object to be conferred, I
thought at the moment, would be a snuff-box in diamonds, but I
was agreeably surprised to learn from the secretary, on his return
from reporting the result of our conversation to the Sultan, that he
had been pleased to confer upon Mr. Morse a nichan, or decoration
of a superior grade, in diamonds."

The ingenuous and high-minded gentleman who thus refused
the decoration which he believed to be due to the inventor of

60g LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE.

the Telegraph, rather than to himself who had illustrated it to
the Sultan, Professor J. Lawrence Smith, has since been the
President of the American Scientific Association, and is a resi
dent of- Louisville, Ky. He states that, after the decoration had
been promised to Professor Morse, some delay in its presentation
occurred, and Professor Smith, inquiring for the cause, was in
formed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs that the 'English
legation had stated to the Turkish Government that Professor
Morse was not the inventor ! Professor Smith then argued the
question in a communication to the Turkish minister, AH
Pasha, and fully satisfied that intelligent statesman of the rights
of the American. In ten days after this paper was submitted,
the decoration was placed in the hands of Professor Smith to be
forwarded officially to Professor Morse. The original diploma
which Professor Morse received with the diamond decoration
of the order is given in fac-simile, of which the following is a
translation :

[TRANSLATION.]
"!N THE NAME or HIM:

" SULTAN ABDUL MAJID KHAN, Son of Mahmoud Khan, Son
of Abdul Hamid Khan — may he ever be victorious !

" The object of the present sovereign decoration of Noble
Exalted Glory, of Elevated Place and of this Illustrious, World
Conquering Monogram, is as follows :

The Bearer of this Imperial Monogram of exalted character,
Mr. Morse, an American, a man of science and of talents, and who
is a Model of the Chiefs of the nation of the Messiah— may his
grade be increased — having invented an Electrical Telegraph, a
specimen of which has been exhibited in my Imperial presence ;
and it being proper to patronize knowledge, and to express my
sense of the value of the attainments of the Inventor, as well as to
distinguish those persons who are the Inventors of such objects as
serve to extend and facilitate the relations of mankind, I have con
ferred upon him, on my exalted part, an honorable decoration in
diamonds, and issued also this present diploma, as a token of my
benevolence for him.

" Written in the middle of the moon Sefer, the fortunate, the
year of the Flight one thousand two hundred and sixty-four (22
January, 1848). In Constantinople the well-guarded.

" Signed on the face of the Diploma by the SULTAN.

» A . . Jl

W^^<&ty*^^$^ijk&xU^*&

HONOR FROM PRUSSIA. 609

" On the back by

" MOHAMMED ALI PASHA, Minister of Foreign Affairs ; CHEO
KEL BEY, Vice- Chancellor of the Sublime Porte.
" THE REGISTRAR of the Sublime Porte" .

Thus the first recognition of the Telegraph by a monarch
of the Old World, was made by the Sultan of Turkey ! Pro
fessor Morse acknowledged the honor in a letter closing with
these words : " That God may grant a long and prosperous reign
to your Majesty, is the sincere prayer of your Majesty's most
humble and obedient servant."

In the year 1851 Professor Morse, having learned that the
American Electro-Magnetic Telegraph had been adopted in Prus
sia as the most efficient yet devised, directed a letter of inquiry
into the truth of the report to the Baron Gerolt, the Prussian
Minister at Washington ; at the same time transmitting, as a
specimen of the efficiency of Morse's Telegraph, a pamphlet con
taining a full report of the trial of Professor Webster for the
murder of Dr. Parkman, which had just been transmitted from
Boston and printed in the New- York Globe, being the longest
consecutive document then ever sent over a line of telegraph.
The following reply to his inquiry was received by Professor
Morse a few days afterward :

" PRUSSIAN LEGATION AT WASHINGTON, April 15, 1851.

" DEAR SIR : On the 26th of April, 1850, I informed you that I
had communicated to his Majesty's Government the pamphlet
which you had sent to me as an example of the efficiency of your
Electric Telegraph system. In answer to your inquiries about the
adoption of your Telegraph in Prussia, I beg to inclose a copy of
the report made on the subject by Mr. Nottebohm, who was charged
with the establishing of telegraphic lines in Prussia. You will see
by that report that your Telegraph has been found the most efficient
for great distances.

" It gives me great satisfaction to inform you at the same time
that his Majesty the king, as an acknowledgment of your great
merits for the improvement of the Electro-Magnetic Telegraphs,
has ordered me to present to you a golden snuff-box containing the
Prussian golden medal for scientific merit.

" The said box is now in possession of his Majesty's consul-
39

61Q LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

general, F. W. Schmidt, Esq., at New York, No. 56 New Street,
who will deliver it. to you, and receive your receipt for it.

"I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to you the assur
ances of my high consideration and personal esteem.

" Your most obedient servant, GEROLT.

" Professor S. F. B. MORSE, Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York."

To this Professor Morse returned the following reply :

"POUGHKEEPSIE, DUTCHESS COUNTY, N. Y., April 21, 1851.

" MY DEAR BARON : On my return home on Saturday evening,
I received your most gratifying letter of the 15th instant, an
nouncing to me the doubly flattering intelligence that the Amer
ican Electro-Magnetic Telegraph had been adopted throughout
the Prussian dominions, by his Majesty the king, 'as the most
efficient for great distances,' and that his Majesty had been pleased,
through you, to present to me as the inventor such a valuable mark
of his consideration. The box, with its inclosed medal, is not yet
received. I shall take the earliest opportunity to call and receive
it from the Prussian consul, when I next visit the city of New York.

" Be pleased, my dear baron, to present to his Majesty the
king my sincere thanks, with my unfeigned wishes that the Electric
Telegraph may be a means, under God, in the hands of his Majesty,
and of the other governments of the world, of adding greatly to the
convenience, the security, and the substantial happiness of mankind;

" Accept also for yourself, my dear baron, my thanks for this
additional token of your personal friendliness, and kind interest in
the success of my invention.

" Believe me, with the highest consideration and personal
esteem, your most obedient servant,

" SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" To his Excellency the Baron GEROLT."

WURTEMBERG. — The third European Government recogniz
ing the inventor of the Telegraph was Wurtemberg. The fol
lowing is a translation of the letter informing Professor Morse
of the honor:

" STUTTGART, February 24, 1852.
" To his Excellency Professor MORSE, at Washington.

" YOUR EXCELLENCY: His Majesty the King of Wurtemberg,
upon the report of the Minister of Finance relative to your Excel
lency as the inventor of the best Recording Telegraph known to him,

HONOR FROM AUSTRIA. 611

and which, on account of its simplicity and efficiency, is adopted
and used throughout all Germany, and particularly in Wurtem-
berg, has graciously bestowed upon you the Great Gold Medal of
Arts and Sciences, for your meritorious services in the art of Tele
graphing. While it affords me special satisfaction most respectfully
to inform your Excellency of this, in inclosing to you the medal, and
to present my sincere congratulations on this deserved distinction,
I seize gladly the opportunity to assure you of my perfect esteem.

" The Chief of the Royal Wurtemberg Finance Department and
Chancellor of State, KNAPP."

AUSTRIA. — In 1855 the Emperor of Austria sent to Professor
Morse the Great Gold Medal of Science and Art. It is a mas
sive and beautiful piece of work. On one side is a medallion
head of the young emperor, crowned with laurel, with the in
scription, " Franciscus Josephus I., D. G., Austrige Imperator ; "
and, on the obverse, a wreath of laurel surrounding the imperial
crown, with the inscription, " Literis et Artibus." This was the
fourth token of acknowledgment from European sovereigns ac
corded to Professor Morse. It was accompanied by this letter :

" BOSTON, August 4, 1855.

" SIR: I have much pleasure in transmitting to you, by order of
the Imperial Government, the Great Golden Medal for Science and
Arts, which his Majesty the Emperor of Austria has been pleased
to confer upon you, in acknowledgment of your eminent merits
concerning the telegraphic system in general, as well as its devel
opment in Austria in particular. It is very satisfactory to myself to
be the organ of the Imperial Government on this agreeable occa
sion ; and I beg you will at the same time permit me to express to
you my great personal regard. Remaining, sir, very respectfully,
youn obedient servant, HULSEMANN,

" Charge $ Affaires of his Majesty the Emperor of Austria.
^ To Professor MORSE, Poughkeepsie, New York."

FRANCE. — In the year 1856 the Emperor of France conferred
upon Professor Morse the brevet and decoration as Chevalier of
the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honor. The Hon. J. Y.
Mason was at that time the Minister of the United States in
France, and through him the Order was conferred. Mr. Mason,
in acknowledging it, wrote to the Minister of the Interior a let
ter, in which were these words :

612 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

« My distinguished compatriot, Professor Morse, having returned
to his home in the United States, I will hasten to send to him the
letter addressed to him by his Excellency Count Walewski, Minis
ter of Foreign Affairs, and with it the brevet and decoration which
his Majesty has deigned to confer on him as a Chevalier de 1'Ordre
Imperial de la Legion d'Honneur. The success of Professor Morse's
invention, in promoting the interests of mankind, in facilitating
the art of telegraphic communication, has given him fame, and
made him friends in all countries. This gracious act of considera
tion on the part of his Majesty will, I am assured, be acknowledged
by him and them as peculiarly gratifying. Professor Morse de
serves to be regarded as the benefactor of his race, and the rewards
bestowed on one so highly gifted, and yet so modest, can never be
unworthily conferred."

DENMARK. — The King of Denmark honored the inventor in
the same year, 1856. Professor Morse received the Cross of the
Order of Dannebrog, with the following letter :

" LEGATION OF DENMARK, PHILADELPHIA, December 29, 1856.

" SIR : I have the honor to inform you that his Majesty the
King of Denmark, having been pleased to confer on you the Cross
of a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog, in acknowledgment of
the services you have rendered the world by the invention and suc
cessful establishment of the Electrical Telegraph, I have received
for you from his Majesty's Ministry of Foreign Affairs the Cross of
the Dannebrog, together with an official communication from the
Chapter of the Order, which his Majesty's consul at New York,
Mr. Ed. Beck, will have the honor of handing to you.

" Begging you to accept my compliments, and the assurance of
my distinguished consideration, I have the honor to be, sir, your
most obedient servant, TTJBENS BILL,

" H. D. Minister Charge & Affaires.

" Professor SAMUEL MORSE, Poughkeepsie, New York."

SWEDEN. — October 3, 1858, Professor Morse was elected a
member of the Koyal Academy of Sciences in Sweden, and the
fact communicated to him in the most flattering terms by the
secretary.

Convention of European Powers. — The pecuniary testimo
nial awarded to Professor Morse in 1858, by a convention of the

SPAIN, ITALY, AND SWITZERLAND. 613

European Governments, is made the subject of a subsequent
chapter.

SPAIN. — May 11, 1859, Isabella II., Queen of Spain, on the
occasion of the adoption of the Morse system of Telegraphs in
her dominions, issued a decree conferring on Samuel F. B.
Morse, the inventor, the order of Knighthood and Commander
of the First Class of the Koyal Order of Isabella the Catholic.

PORTUGAL. — September 20, 1860, the King of Portugal with
his own hand addressed a letter to Professor Morse, thanking
him for the great benefit he had conferred upon the human race
by his invention, and making him Knight of the Tower and
Sword, as a mark of his " appreciation of the Professor's scien
tific merit and the service he had rendered the world at large."

ITALY. — March 31, 1864, his Majesty Victor Emmanuel II.,
King of Italy, conferred on Professor Morse the brevet and the
insignia of Chevalier of the Royal Order of S.,S. Maurizio et
Lazare.

SWITZERLAND. — December 20, 1866, Professor Morse was
elected honorary member of the " Societe de Physique et d'His-
toire Naturelle " of Geneva, Switzerland.

These honorable distinctions are grouped in the order of
their dates, and presented in connection, that it may be seen at
a glance how generally and thoroughly the merits of Morse as
the inventor were comprehended, and the value of his labors
appreciated among the nations of the earth. And all this in
his own life-time !

CHAPTEE XYI.

1854-1855.

SUBMARINE TELEGEAPH— THE FIRST EXPERIMENT— NEWFOUNDLAND ELECTEIO
TELEGRAPH — OYETJS W. FIELD — LIEUTENANT MAUEY's OPINION — FORMA
TION OF A NEW COMPANY — MORSE TO FARADAY — EXTENSION OF PATENT —

LETTERS TO MR. FIELD AND MR. WHITE DR. STEINHEIL's LETTER HON.

D. D. BARNARD — PROFESSOR MORSE'S PREDICTIONS — EXPEDITION TO NEW
FOUNDLAND ATTEMPT TO LAY THE CABLE FAILURE — RENEWED ATTEMPT,

AND SUCCESS.

IN a letter to the Hon. Levi Woodbury, dated September 27,
1837, Professor Morse remarked, in speaking of the con
struction of the lines of Telegraph : " Where the stream is wide,
and no bridge, the circuit inclosed in lead may ~be sunk to the
'bottom; " and again, speaking of the mode of stretching the lines
upon posts, to connect different parts of the country together,
he says, " This mode would be as cheap, probably, as any other,
unless the laying of the circuit m the water should be found to
be most eligible." Professor Morse then contemplated a sub
marine line between New York and Charleston, along the
coast. He proceeds : " A series of experiments to ascertain the
practicability of this mode, I am about to commence with Pro
fessor Gale — we are preparing a circuit of twenty miles. The
result of our experiments I will have the honor of reporting to
you."

This letter, with other documents, was published and circu
lated in the year 1837. There was ample time in two years for
such a suggestion, published in a congressional document, to
reach Europe, and to be perused by those interested in the sub
ject. That the result of the proposed experiments was satis-

SUBMARINE TELEGRAPHS. 615

factory is subsequently proved, although it does not appear to
have been reported to the department.

Early in the spring of 1838 Professor Morse went to Europe
with his Telegraph for the purpose of procuring patents, and to
explain its operation to the scientific world. Our consul in
Paris at that date was Robert Walsh, Esq., well known 'as a
distinguished scholar and writer. He was the correspondent for
many years of the I^ew-York Journal of Commerce. In the
summer of 1858 the Journal of Commerce quoted Professor
Morse's letter of August 10, 1843, to the Secretary of the Treas
ury, in which this passage occurs : " The practical inference from
this law is that a telegraphic communication on the electro-mag
netic plan may with certainty be established across the Atlantic
Ocean ! Startling as this may now seem, I am confident the
time will come when this project will be realized." When this
number of the Journal reached Paris, Mr. Walsh, in his corre
spondence to the Journal (1858), alluding to the letter of Pro
fessor Morse, says : " His letter to Mr. Spencer (Secretary of the
Treasury), dated in August, 1 843, which I read in your Journal,
is most remarkable and opportunely produced. Many years ago,
in 1838, when the Professor endeavored to cause his invention
and practice to be understood by the French dignitaries, I held
frequent converse with him, and I can distinctly recollect that
he expressed to me that firm persuasion of the practicability and
ultimate execution of an Atlantic Telegraph which is so confi
dently stated in the penultimate paragraph of his letter." The
conversations thus alluded to and distinctly recollected by Mr.
Walsh, and the predictions of a future Atlantic Telegraph, we're
undoubtedly based upon the success of the experiments proposed
and tried by Professor Morse in 183T, just before he left for
Europe. In an article in the Telegrapher of August 12, 1871,
the attempt is made on the authority of Mr. IT. J. Holmes to
show that the first suggestion of " conveying messages under
the sea " was due to Sir C. Wheatstone, in 1840, who, it is for
the first time alleged, made an experiment at that date in Swan
sea Bay, and the article thus concludes : " From the results of
that trial has proceeded the great submarine telegraph system,
now extending over so large a portion of the globe." Even if
this experiment was made at that time and in that manner by

616 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Sir C. Wheatstone, it was at least two or three years subsequent
to the successful experiments for that same purpose by Professor
Morse. But in 1840, the year in which this experiment of Pro
fessor Vheatstone is said to have been made, a select committee
of the House of Commons was raised on railways, of which
Lord Seymour was chairman, and Sir John Guest a member.
Professor Wheatstone was called before this committee to an
swer some questions respecting telegraphs. Question 340 was
proposed by Sir John Guest :

"Have you tried to pass the line through water?" To
which Professor Wheatstone made this reply :

" There would le no difficulty In doing so, but THE EXPERI

MENT HAS NOT YET BEEN TRIED."

Question 341, by Lord Seymour : " Could you communicate
from Dover to Calais, in that way ? "

The answer of Professor "Wheat stone was, " I think it per
fectly practicable."

These two questions and the answers were all that were pro
posed before that committee, relative to submarine telegraphy.
Alluding to this examination before the committee, an article in
an English scientific journal of 1865 commences with this re
mark :

" Twenty-four years have elapsed since Professor Wheat-
stone suggested, to the select committee of the House of Com
mons on railways, the construction of a submarine telegraph
between Dover and Calais." Now, if the question of Sir John
Guest was the suggestion, because he alluded to " the line
through water" it was Sir John Guest, and not Professor
Wheatstone, who suggested it. If it wras the question whether
communication could be made between Dover and Calais, it was
the suggestion of Lord Seymour, and not of Professor Wheat-
stone. There is no published account of any submarine tele
graph experiments until the year 1842. Professor Morse said in
a public address: "In October, 1842, the first submarine tele
graph cable was laid by me on one moonlight night in the har
bor of this city, which proved experimentally the practicability
of submarine telegraphy."

For this experiment Professor Morse received the Gold
Medal of the American Institute, and the result was published

NEWFOUNDLAND COMPANY. 617

in the journals of the day. A submarine telegraph, with an in
strument and battery at Castle Garden, and an instrument in
the fort at Governor's Island, was successfully operated. This
was the commencement of Submarine Telegraphy. The first
practical demonstration of a submarine telegraph belongs to
Professor Morse.

In the year 1852 the Legislature of Newfoundland incorpo
rated a company under the title of the " Newfoundland Electric
Telegraph Company," its object being to connect the island
with the American Continent. The company failed to accom
plish its purpose, and never proposed to cross the ocean with its
lines. In the month of January, 1854, Mr. F. N. Gisborne, one
of the officers of that company, came to the city of New York,
and meeting Mr. Matthew D. Field, a civil-engineer, sought to
interest him in an effort to revive the fortunes of the Newfound
land company. Mr. Field spoke of the subject to his brother,
CYKUS W. FIELD, who invited Mr. Gisborne to his house to con
sider the subject. An evening was spent in its discussion. After
Mr. Gisborne had left the house, Mr. Field took a terrestrial
globe, and, while studying it with reference to the connection
of Newfoundland with New York, he said to himself, " Why
not cross the ocean, and connect the New World with the Old ? "
Professor Morse had long ago declared it practicable, and pre
dicted its accomplishment. The idea took possession of the
mind of Mr. Field, as the original conception of the Telegraph
had absorbed the mind of Professor Morse in 1832. Mr. Field
immediately applied to Professor Morse for his opinion as to the
feasibility of the scheme. The Professor, being in Washington
at the time, replied that he had " perfect faith in the feasibility
of the enterprise ; " and that he had consulted with Lieutenant
Maury, of the United States Navy, on the subject, and obtained
from him a letter which he would show to Mr. Field when he re
turned to New York. The letter, which was addressed to the
Secretary of the Navy, described the beautiful plateau which
deep sea-soundings had disclosed, extending from Newfoundland
to Ireland, on which could be laid a cable, to rest as quietly as
at the bottom of a mill-pond. This was conclusive. Hon. Da
vid Dudley Field embarked with his brother, Cyrus W. Field,
with great enthusiasm in the project, and became the legal ad-

61g LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

viser of the company formed to prosecute the work. He and
his brother, Cyrus W., Peter Cooper, Moses Taylor, M. O. Kob-
erts, and Chandler White, met, and around a table covered with
maps, plans, and estimates, the subject was discussed for four
successive evenings — the practicability of the undertaking exam
ined, its advantages, its cost, and the means of its accomplish
ment. The result of the conference was the agreement of all
the six gentlemen to enter upon the undertaking. Mr. Cyrus W.,
and David D. Field, and Mr. White, went to Newfoundland to
procure a charter and such aid in money and privileges as the
government of that island could be induced to give.

At St. John's they met Mr. Edward M. Archibald, then
Attorney-General of the colony. He entered warmly into the
subject, introduced them to the Governor, Kerr Bailey Hamilton,
who convoked the Council to hear an explanation of their views
and wishes. As the result of these negotiations a liberal, charter
was secured from the Assembly. To the six gentlemen already
named as corporators were now added Professor Morse, Mr. Rob
ert W. Lowber, Mr. Wilson G. Hunt, and Mr. John W. Brett.
Immediately, Mr. Cyrus W. Field went to England, and pro
cured specimens of cable, and engaged men of capital and influ
ence in the enterprise. Mr. Brett, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr.
Bright,, gentlemen of high scientific attainments, were enlisted.
The Atlantic Telegraph Company was formed to c6c5perate with
the company already organized in America. Mr. Field obtained
from the British Government the promise of ships to aid in lay
ing the cable, and a fixed yearly sum for the service of the Ocean
Telegraph. On his return to the United States, he succeeded in
obtaining from Congress similar pledges of assistance, though
by a majority of one only in the Senate. The two companies
were now acting in harmony. Morse was appointed ELECTRICIAN
of the company on this side. Faraday held the same responsible
office on the other. They compared views by frequent corre
spondence. Morse, in writing to Faraday, Sept. 30, 1854, says :
' Taking for granted a successful result of the experiment on
the propulsion of a current to the required distance, that is to say,
from Newfoundland to Ireland, I have proposed that the cable coll
ator be constructed in the following manner, to wit :
" The conducting wires of the circuit I propose to be of the

SUBMARINE CABLES.

.619

purest copper, each not less than one-eighth (^) of an inch in sec
tional diameter. Each wire to be insulated to the thickness also of
one-eighth of an inch with gutta-percha. If it should be decided by
the company that in the first instance a single conductor shall be laid
down, then a thin tube of lead, about one-sixteenth (yJg-) of an inch in
thickness, is drawn over the wire conductor and its gutta-percha cov
ering, and then a series of strands of common iron wire and of
hempen cord, or rope yarn of the same size, say four or five of the
former and the rest of the latter, are to be laid parallel with the in
terior conducting wire, on the exterior of the tube (Fig. 6), and
these are to be confined in place by two spiral cords wound in con
trary directions and crossing each other around the cable at inter
vals, say of nine or twelve inches.

FIG. 2.

FIG. 3.

FIG. 1.

FIG. 4.

FIG. 5.

FIG. 6.

" If it is thought best to lay down, in the first instance, more
than one conductor in the same package, or fascis, then the number
chosen may be three, as in Fig. 3, or seven, as in Fig. 2 ; these be
ing the numbers most economically packed in a tube to form the
fascis of conductors. Six wires, as in Fig. 5, and four wires, as in
Fig. 4, do not pack in a tube economically."

620

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Professor Steinheil, of Munich, whose Telegraph approached
that of Professor Morse more nearly than any other, and who
had so magnanimously insisted upon the superiority of the Morse
instrument in the German Telegraph Convention of 1852, com
municated to Colonel Shanher in this summer of 1854 a letter
giving a minute account of the progress of the Telegraph on
the Continent of Europe, through his instrumentality, and clos
ing with the following declaration : " In this way I have ~been
able effectually to labor for the adoption of the Morse system
throughout all Europe ; and that I have thereby extended his
well-earned fame has been to me the source of peculiar pleasure,
which I leg you to testify to Professor Morse in proper time,
together with my most friendly respects"

This declaration is certainly sufficient to silence forever the
oft-repeated assertion that Morse's system- is the same as Stein-
heil's. But a letter from Dr. Steinheil, subsequently received
by Morse himself, is still more explicit.1

Hon. D. D. Barnard, who had been the Minister of the
United States at the court of Prussia, wrote to Professor Morse
communicating information which greatly cheered him :

" I have been an indignant observer, from the beginning of the
outrageous piracies to which you have been subjected at the hands
of your countrymen, and of the infamous course of the public press
of this country toward you, in reference to your wonderful inven
tion of the Telegraph. It was, therefore, with peculiar satisfaction
that, during my residence abroad, I was accustomed to hear your
name pronounced with emphasis and honor everywhere on the Con
tinent where I chanced to be, and in whatever circle, whenever the
subject of the Electric Telegraph was named. I became entirely
satisfied that the general sentiment of the European world did not
fail or hesitate to award to you the chief merit of this grand inven
tion, and that your name was as sure of unrivaled immortality in
connection with it, as that of Galileo or Newton with astronomy, or
that of Bacon with philosophy. I spoke to you briefly of this when
I had the pleasure of meeting you, but I have wished to express to
you the same thing in a more substantial form.

' In Germany, after the most mature and elaborate investigation
by the aid of the profoundest learning and wisdom of the age, your

HON. D. D. BARNARD. 621

Telegraph was adopted in a general convention of all the states
assembled expressly to consider that subject. And I can give you
the assurance, without attempting to detail particular conversations,
that had you visited Berlin while I was there, and when I had
hoped to have seen you, you would have met from such a man as
the illustrious Humboldt, and from the King of Prussia himself,
such a distinguished and honored reception as would only be ac
corded from such quarters to the few who have made themselves
eminent and immortal by such rare benefactions of their genius to
the world as have satisfactorily passed the ordeal of trial and time.
" Regretting the necessity I am under of writing thus briefly,
and wishing you all honor and prosperity, I am, my dear sir, most
truly yours, D. D. BARNARD."

Professor Morse to Mr. Barnard.

" POUGHKEEPSIE, July 26, 1854.

" MY DEAR SIR : I return you my hearty thanks for your most
acceptable letter. I had supposed that mine, to which it was in
reply, had by some means miscarried. Any evil merely of delay,
however, has now been more than overbalanced. I regret only the
cause of the delay, and this most sincerely, and I trust your valu
able life and health may long be preserved to the country and to
your family. Your letter is to me, indeed, most gratifying as a
most valuable addition to the substantial and munificent proof of
regard already in my possession from his Majesty the King of
Prussia. To have such an attestation of priority of invention of
the Telegraph from so distinguished a quarter, and supported by
the opinion of that excellent and world-renowned savant, the Baron
Humboldt, is indeed cheering, yet in some respects a mortifying con
trast with the denial of this claim by some of my own countrymen
who stand high in attainments in science. But the courts of my
country, especially our noble Supreme Court, have at length fully
sustained the foreign verdict, but alas ! I fear their decision will be
of little personal benefit, except as it may favorably affect my family
after I am gone.

" I feel the loss of time, and the habits of mind generated by
long-continued litigation more than all else, as unfitting me for con
summating other projects of usefulness, and when I consider that
my age must ere long, in the natural course of things, disqualify me
from undertaking them with any prospect of success, I feel a sad
ness I cannot express."

62£ LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Professor Morse to Mr. Kendall.

"A most important arrangement has been entered into be
tween the American and English, or rather Continental Submarine
Telegraph Companies. Our New York, Newfoundland, and London
Telegraph Company has been united with the Continental or Great
Telegraph Union of Europe. A deputation or rather agent was
sent over to concert a plan of union. Mr. C. D. Archibald, F. R. S.,
and secretary of the British company, met us at Mr. Field's. I was
present at the meetings, and after much consultation a plan of union
was adopted. They have the control of all the lines of Great
Britain, France, and the Continent generally, and are the company
carrying out the Mediterranean and Asiatic lines.

" Mr. Archibald gave me the first information that the British
lines were about to discard all other systems but mine, and that the
scientific mind of Britain was disposed at length to do us the jus
tice to acknowledge that we were far ahead of all the world in
telegraphy. A letter also just received from him commences thus :
4 1 feel bound to express my acknowledgments of your kindness in
initiating me into the mysteries of electric telegraphy, of which I
regard you as the great high-priest.' I had shown him the opera
tion of the Telegraph in our various offices, and he was enthusiastic
in his admiration of the simplicity of my system, and was strong in
his expressions of its superiority over their systems, which he as
strongly condemned. Mr. A. is an intimate and personal friend of
Faraday, who proposed him as a member of the Royal Society, and
who by-the-by is the electrician of the British company."

Professor Morse to Mr. Fleischmann.

" September 21, 1854.

" Many thanks for your letter of the 25th August, which came
safely to hand, and for the most gratifying intelligence which it
gives me of the near prospect of the universality of my Telegraph
system. I am now engaged in the great enterprise of the Oceanic
Telegraph, and in investigating and, overcoming the difficulties of
such a work. The two companies, European and American, have
united on satisfactory terms, and, as great capital is embarked to
carry it through, I do not despair of witnessing myself, as un fait
accompli, my prediction to the Secretary of the Treasury, in my
Jtter to him of August 10, 1843, fulfilled, that, « startling as it may
now seem (a telegraph across the Atlantic), the project will event
ually be realized.' "

ANTICIPATIONS. 623

In the autumn of this year Professor Morse was nominated
for Congress by a portion of the Democratic party, and the re
sult he expresses, very concisely but correctly, in a letter written
to a friend abroad : " I came near being in Congress at the late
election, but had not quite votes enough, which is the usual
cause of failure on such occasions."

His mind was constantly absorbed in experiments and corre
spondence, meeting new difficulties, encouraging doubtful capi
talists, and combating adverse suggestions by men of science.
The winter of 1854-'55 was passed in New York, in the midst
of intense labors, such as few young students would endure.
In the spring he wrote to his friend T. K. Walker, Esq., of
Utica :

" Our Atlantic line is in a fair way. We have the governments
and capitalists of Europe zealously and warmly engaged to carry it
through. Three years will not pass before a submarine telegraph
communication will be had with Europe ; and I do not despair of
sitting in my office, and, by a touch of the telegraph-key, asking a
question simultaneously to persons in London, Paris, Cairo, Cal
cutta, and Canton, and getting the answer from all of them in five
minutes after the question is asked. Does this seem strange ? I
presume, if I had even suggested the thought some twenty years
ago, I might have had a quiet residence in a big building in your
vicinity."

The " big building " is the Lunatic Asylum. To Mr. Field
he wrote :

" I am happy to learn the progress of the Telegraph, and hope,
in 1858, to accomplish what I have so often predicted I should do
in three years from this, to wit : ask a question from my office, in
my house in Poughkeepsie, to London, Paris, Vienna, Constanti
nople, and Calcutta, if not to Canton, and get my answer back in
five minutes."

And in July Professor Morse wrote to IS". Green, Esq., in
New Orleans :

" I am about to leave home for some weeks to sail for New
foundland, to assist in laying down the submarine-cable, to connect
Newfoundland and Nova Scotia across the Gulf of St. Lawrence, a

6o4 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

distance of about sixty miles. When this is laid, we shall bring
Europe within six days of America; and this is preparatory to the
great enterprise across the Atlantic, which I confidently anticipate
seeing in operation within two years from the present time. Should
this enterprise succeed, as I have no doubt it will, a great impulse
will be given to telegraph business throughout all the country ; in
deed, I may say, throughout the world. The effects of the Telegraph
on the interests of the world, political, social, and commercial, have
as yet scarcely begun to be apprehended, even by the most specu
lative minds. I trust that one of its effects will be to bind man to
his fellow-man in such bonds of amity as to put an end to war ; I
think I can predict this effect as in a not distant future."

On the 7th day of August, 1855, Professor Morse, with his
wife and one of his sons, embarked on the steamer James
Adger, with a large number of friends, for Newfoundland.
The party was one of business and pleasure combined. The
company was represented by Messrs. Peter Cooper, Cyrus "W.
Field, 'David Dudley Field, Eobert W. Lowber, and Professor
Morse ; and the invited guests included Key. Drs. Spring and
H. M. Field, Eev. J. M. Sherwood, and others. Professor Morse
was in high spirits. He had a telegraphic instrument on board,
which he illustrated to the company. The voyage was delight
ful. The steamer touched at Halifax, and then went on to
Port au Basque, near Cape Eay, where the Sarah L. Bryant
was expected from England with the cable, to be laid across
the Gulf of St. Lawrence. She had not arrived ; and the party
proceeded to St. John's, where they were entertained with great
hospitality. In return, a banquet was given on board the
James Adger to the principal inhabitants of the town. The
Morning Post of August 18th, gave an animated sketch of the
occasion, and records the toast that called out the inventor of
the Electric Telegraph —

"The steed, called Lightning (say the Fates),
Was tamed in the United States ;
'Twas Franklin's hand that caught the horse,
'Twas harnessed by Professor Morse."

^ "Returning from St. John's to Port au Basque, the expected
ship was found, with the cable on board. The work of laying

FAILURE AND SUCCESS.

625

it was begun August 23, 1855, and prosecuted four days, when,
in the midst of a terrific storm, it was necessary to sever the
cable and abandon the attempt. The James Adger arrived at
New York, September 5th, on her return from this first and
unsuccessful expedition. The next summer a 'second and quiet
attempt was crowned with success.
40

CHAPTEE XVII.
1856.

PBOFE880B MOESE VISITS HIS NATIVE PLACE— GOES TO ETTEOPE — CONSULTA
TIONS IN LONDON ON THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH — ME. PEABODY's DINNER

LANDSEEE AND LESLIE — WHITEBAIT DINNEE — LETTER TO THE CHILDEEN

GOES TO PAEIS AND HAMBUEG — ATTENTIONS SHOWN TO HIM THERE —

COPENHAGEN — VISIT TO THE XING OF DENMAEK — GOES TO RUSSIA — BE-
CEPTION — PEESENTATION TO THE EMPEEOR — VISIT TO BERLIN — RECEP
TION BY HUMBOLDT RETURN TO LONDON SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS

LETTERS TO MR. FIELD BANQUET TO MORSE LEGION OF HONOR TUP-

PER'S SONNET — LONDON TIMES — ROBERT OWEN.

BEING in Boston on business in the spring of 1856, Professor
Morse employed a leisure afternoon in- visiting the house in
which he was born. In a letter written at the Revere House
the same evening, he describes the interesting incidents of the
visit :

" BOSTON, Wednesday, May 13, 1856.

" After dinner, to-day, I walked over to Charlestown, not hav
ing visited the place* for some eighteen years, «and then but fora
few hours, after an absence of many years. The changes in the
north part of Boston, and in Charlestown, were so great, that I
found my way across the old Charles River bridge with some diffi
culty, and, standing on the bridge and looking on each side, could
scarcely recognize any of the former landmarks. I paid my penny-
toll to the toll-taker, and said to him : 'I find some alterations here
since I used to pay my tolls to old Deacon Miller, at the toll-house
on the opposite side of this bridge.' ' Ah !' said he ; 'that was a
great while ago ; the old deacon has been dead many years ; my
grandfather was deacon with him in the same church.' 'In what
church?' said I. 'Iri Dr. Morse's church,' said he, 'where I used

THE OLD HOMESTEAD. 627

to go when I was a boy.' i Indeed,' said I ; ' and who was your
grandfather?' 'Deacon Frothingham,' said he. 'Are you a
grandson of old Deacon Frothingham ? I knew the good old man
well ; he was one of my father's firmest friends*' ' And who was
your father, then, sir ? ' said he. ' Dr. Morse,' I replied. ' Are you
a son of Dr. Morse ? ' said he ; ' which one ? He had a son a paint
er ; and my brother also is a painter.' ' I am the painter,' I said ;
' and your brother, then, is James Frothingham ? ' ' Yes.' ' Where
is he? Is he living?' 'Yes; he lives in Brooklyn, New York.'
' Indeed ! and can you tell me where the portrait is which he took
of my father ? — for I think it was one of the best ever taken of him ;
and I am very anxious to know where I can find it.' ' No,' said
he ; * I cannot tell you where it is.' After shaking hands with him,
I passed on into the square of Charlestown. I stopped and looked
round. A pump used to stand in the centre. It was no longer
there. The eastern part of the square was entirely changed. The
north showed the Salem turnpike, passing between a new build
ing, the Bunker Hill Bank, and an old building, which seemed un
changed amid the changes that surrounded it, the old store of
Skinner & Hurd, the same in all respects as of old, except a new
firm upon the sign over the door. Directly opposite, on the south
of the square, more changes struck me ; a new bridge-way occupied
the space where the house of Richard Carey, and old Aunt Dowse,
as she was familiarly called, formerly stood, leaving a venerable
reminiscence of the ancient aristocracy of Charlestown on the right,
in the old mansion of the Russell family ; it is now a tavern, the
words 'Innholder,' in small letters, are over the door. What a
change was here ! In that house I had seen the venerable Judge
Russell, and his two maiden daughters, Sally and Mary Russell. I
recalled the days when, with my parents, I used to visit at that
house, and the pleasure, when a child, with which I heard my
mother say, ' If you are good, you shall go and see Aunt Russell
this afternoon ; ' for Aunt Sally and Aunt Mary were sure to fill
our pockets with cakes and apples. So vividly did the sight of this
old mansion bring up the faces of the good old people, that I think
now I could paint each of their portraits from recollection : the
large features of the old judge, with his bushy eyebrows, his promi
nent under lip, and his bending form ; Aunt Mary, with her wide
face, pale, and somewhat sad ; and Aunt Sally, with a sharper physi
ognomy, and expression of more vivacity, and quicker and more
bustling in her movement ; their dress models of neatness and pro-

C2g LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

priety, and their demeanor kind and courteous, yet sufficiently re
served to restrain any. disposition on our part to childish excess.

" Separated from the old mansion by a passage to a wharf, still
stands in all its gloomy, unattractive shabbiness, an old house,
which I well remember possessed, from my earliest recollection of
it, the same repulsive characteristics which it now has. For fifty
years it seems never to have had a coat of paint, nor any attempt

at change.

" I passed up the hill where, formerly on the right, was the gar
den of my father's house. All trace of this garden and the house
is gone ; the site of both is covered by a row of brick houses ; all on
that side was new. On the left, however, still stands, apparently
unchanged, the garden and house of Matthew Bridge, our opposite
neighbor — unchanged I mean in their general characteristics, but
bearing marks of decay and neglect. The house toward the west
has also the same general features as it had forty years ago, but
now decayed and dilapidated, the fence down, and every thing
about it slovenly.

" The church where my father preached has long since been re
moved, and on its site the present neat, substantial, and commo
dious house of worship erected. I had not time to give it more
than a passing glance. I went on, desirous of finding the house in
which I was born, for my parents occupied a different house from
the parsonage, when they first came to Charlestown, and during the
time the parsonage was being built. I proceeded down the hill
toward the main street, leaving on the right the house in which our
family physician, Dr. Josiah Bartlett, once lived, and, on the left,
the site where once stood the little shanty of a school-house, kept by
old Ma'am Rand, which was standing not many years ago, and when
my first attempts at drawing, from the injudicious choice I had
made of my pencil and canvas, which were a pin and a bureau,
weje rewarded by a smart rap on the shoulders by her long rattan.

" Passing into the main street, I soon found, after proceeding be
yond the church on the right, the substantial, though wooden, house
of two stories, which I had been told in earlier days was the house
in which I was born. It is now painted brown, but formerly was
white. I stood for a short time on the opposite side of the street,
reconnoitring it, to be assured that it was the house. I then
crossed over, and, finding on the door-plate ' R. B. Edes;' I was con
firmed in my assurance, and rang the bell. It was opened by a
lady, to whom I apologized for the liberty I had taken, stating that

RECOGNITION BY OLD FRIENDS, 629

I knew she would excuse me when she learned my errand, which
was to visit a room in which I first saw the light, and in which I
had not been for more than sixty years. She at once exclaimed,
' Surely this is not Mr. Morse ! ' { Yes, madam, you have spoken my
name.' * Walk in, walk in,' she exclaimed, ' I am rejoiced to see
you. I well remember your good father and mother, and have often
heard that you were born in this house.' So I walked into a neatly-
furnished parlor, and found that the lady was Mrs. Edes, the wife
of Captain Robert Edes, whom we all well knew in our younger
days. He was not at home, but two of their daughters, with each
a sweet child, were soon called and introduced to me. I soon found
that I was among friends, and, while talking with them, one sudden
ly ran to the window, exclaiming, ' There is Mr. Hooper ; I wonder
if he is coming here ? ' She had scarcely spoken, before he turned
to the door and came in. The moment he recognized me he mani
fested the greatest pleasure, and was full of inquiries after all the
family. I told him my errand in coming to this house. ' Oh ! ' said
he, * I can tell you all about it, for I was here when you were born,
and used to take you out-of-doors to take the air, before your mother
was well of her confinement.' ' In which room, then, was I born ? '
said I, £ for I had the impression it was the east front chamber.'

* No,' said he, c it was the east rear chamber, and it is unchanged,
except new papering and painting. I have good reason to remem
ber the time of your birth : your father wished a boy to go to the
post-office in Boston daily for him, and also to carry the proofs and
copy to the printers. I was then about nine years old,' said he,

* and your father employed me for those purposes, and I lived in
the family. Nancy Shepherd was the nurse, and was always active
in the kitchen. One day she was roasting peas to free them from
the weevil, preparatory to burning them for coffee, for,' said he,
' real coffee at that time was very scarce. I was sitting by the fire,
when one of these little bugs flew into my ear, and it caused me
so great pain that I feared for my life. I ran across the street to a
doctor who poured some spirits of wine into my ear, which soon
drove the weevil out.' After a few anecdotes of this kind I went
up-stairs to see the room, I was first shown into the east front
room, overlooking the street, which I had supposed was the room.
Then into the east rear room, which communicated with the other
by a small entry. There was nothing peculiar in the room ; the
ceiling is low, the walls substantial, as is the whole house, in strik
ing contrast with modern buildings.

630

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" I then visited Mr. Hooper's residence, where I found that Mr.
Henry C. Pratt (my former pupil in painting) and his family were
boarding. While there, Mrs. Benjamin Brown came in, one of
father's old friends ; she was greatly rejoiced to see me, and insisted
that I must call with her upon Mrs. Hovey, the widow of Abijah
Hovey, and one of the strongest friends of father and mother in
their last days in Charlestown. I observed that I could not think
of coming to Charlestown without calling upon her ; so Mrs. Brown
piloted me to Mrs. Hovey's, saying, as we knocked at the door, ' Do
not mention your name ; see if she will know you.' When I went
into the parlor, and while waiting for the appearance of Mrs. Hovey,
I cast my eyes upon the picture of my father, by Frothingham, the
identical portrait about which I had inquired of the toll-keeper of
the bridge, the brother of the painter ; and, on the opposite side
of the room, is my earliest picture of a group, being our own fami
ly, my father, aiother, my brother Sidney, Richard, and myself, in
water-colors ; this picture had been the subject of inquiry by my
self and brothers just previous, to my coming to Boston ; we were
speculating where it could be. I remembered giving it to Nancy
Shepherd, and it seems that Nancy just previously to her death gave
it to Mrs. Hovey. My father's likeness, but especially my mother's,
were good likenesses still; Richard's was tolerable, but Sidney's
and my own did not strike me agreeably. My father's figure is
without legs, the picture having been abruptly left before complet
ing it.- On the whole, I had a most agreeable, and to me exceed
ingly exciting, visit, which I shall remember tp the end of mv
life."

On the 5th of June, 1856, Professor Morse sailed for Liver
pool in the steamship Baltic, Captain Comstock. Among the
passengers were William H. Appleton, Esq., of New York, Dr.
Hull, and Colonel Cobb. The Professor was accompanied by his
wife and his niece, Miss Louisa Morse, daughter of his brother
Richard. On board the ship, at the request of the passengers,
Professor Morse gave a discourse in the cabin on the history of
the Telegraph, the circumstances of its invention at sea, and its
progress thus far in the several countries. His time in London
was largely occupied with the gentlemen who were then en
gaged in the construction of the cable for the Atlantic, Messrs.
GUass, Bright, Whitehouse, Statham, and others. On the 4th of
July he was one of the guests of George Peabody, Esq., at din-

LANDSEER AND LESLIE. 631

ner, at the Star and Garter Tavern, Richmond Hill. When the
toast, " The Telegraph," was suddenly proposed, he was unex
pectedly called upon to respond, and, being unable to make a
speech, he rose, and with modesty and dignity recited these
words from the 19th Psalm : " Their line is gone out through all
the earth, and their words to the end of the world."

Landseer was a boy when Morse was a student with West
in London, and Morse knew him at that time. The great artist
now sought him and paid him deserved honors as the President
of the National Academy of Design in the United States. He
gathered the artists of London and men of science and letters at
his own house, and presented to them his distinguished friend
Professor Morse. C. R. Leslie, his fellow-student and room
mate in early youth, when they were both taking lessons of
West, was now in the country at the seat of the Earl of Egre-
mont. It was a few miles by stage-coach, and an invitation
from his old companion was readily accepted. The reunion was
like that of boys meeting after a few years only of separation.
They wandered arm-in-arm over the grounds, and through the
halls, recalling the thousand pleasant memories of youth, and
repeating to one another the incidents that had marked the in
tervening years. A white-bait dinner at Greenwich, given to
Morse by the Telegraph managers, brought together several
gentlemen who had been actively engaged in the extension of
the system abroad, and, in a private letter to his children at
home, Professor Morse gives natural expression to his gratifica
tion in the testimonies of these practical men to the great suc
cess of his invention.

From London he journeyed toward the north of Europe,
spending a few days only in Paris, and at Hamburg. In neither
of these cities did he find at this season of the year the men
whom he would have been most pleased to meet; but, with
a definite purpose before him, he pursued his journey to Copen
hagen. His niece, Miss Morse, in one of her letters, says :

" We reached Copenhagen after two night's tossing in the most
wretched dog-kennel of a boat, and when we arrived at the gloomy
hotel on a damp, drizzling day, and looked out of our parlor-window
upon the long canal- wharf, and the prison-like palace on the other
side, we were a most homesick, as we had been a seasick, party.

633 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

But after this forbidding introduction, Copenhagen proved to be
one of the pleasantest, if not the pleasantest place, of our journey
thus far. We were immediately surrounded by warm friends, who
made us feel at once as if we were at home. Every day and hour
was filled up with entertainments, which these hospitable friends
wore delighted to give to uncle and his party. Commodore Michel-
sen and Mr. Froliche were devoted in their attentions. All spoke
the English language so naturally that we could not believe our
selves in a strange country."

Professor Morse's own letters, in the familiar and confidential
words of a father to his children, give a pleasant account of his
presentation to the king :

"Captain Raastoff and I arrived at Fredericksborg at 11.30,
near midnight. The aide and chamberlain of the king had already
retired for the night, but, leaving our letters to be delivered to the
aide in the morning, we retired to rest.

" In the morning, while at breakfast, we received a message
from the king to see him in his audience-chamber in half an hour ;
so, dressing for the occasion, the captain wearing his orders as
Knight of the Dannebrog, and I my Turkish- Nishan (by advice),
we proceeded to the palace in the Castle of Fredericksborg, where
we were received in the anteroom by the king's aide. The aide told
us that the king had been apprised of my visit to Copenhagen, and
was expecting to see me the day before, which would have been the
case had we not been niisdirected to Jaeger's Priis instead of Fred
ericksborg. After a few minutes the captain was called into the
presence of the king, and in a few minutes more I was requested to
go into the audience-chamber, and was introduced by the captain to
Ferdinand VII., King of Denmark. The king received me standing,
and very courteously. He is a man of middle stature, thick-set,
and resembles more in the features of his face the busts and pict
ures of Christian IV. than those of any of his predecessors, judging
as I did from the numerous busts and portraits of the Kings of
Denmark which adorn the city palace and the Castle of Fredericks
borg.

" The king expressed his pleasure at seeing the inventor of the
Telegraph, and regretted he could not speak English, as he wished
to ask me many questions. He thanked me, he said, for the beautiful
instrument I had sent him ; told me that a telegraph-line was now
in progress from the castle to his royal residence in Copenhagen;

CONVERSATION WITH THE KING. 633

that when it was completed, he had decided on using my instru
ment, which I had given him, in his own private apartments. He
then spoke of the invention as a most wonderful achievement, and
wished me to inform him how I came to invent it. I accordingly
in a few words gave him the early history of it, to which he listened
most attentively, and thanked me, expressing himself highly grati
fied. He asked me what I thought of the practicability of the
Transatlantic Telegraph. I told him it was an enterprise sure to be
accomplished. After a few minutes more of conversation of. the
same character, the king shook me warmly by the hand, and we
took our leave. After the king and his cortege had left the castle,
the governor of the castle, who speaks English, as if it were his
native language, politely accompanied us through the rooms of the
palace, and the gorgeous old church attached to it. It is impossi
ble to give in description any idea of its richness. The altar has
all the splendor of many of the most ornate old Roman Catholic
churches, and it was difficult to believe it to be a Lutheran church.

" We returned to Fredericksborg, which we left after passing
through the royal apartments, and arrived in the afternoon at Co
penhagen. Mrs. F called in her carriage. We drove to the

Thorwaldsen Museum or Depository, where are all the works of this
great man. This collection of the greatest sculptor since the best
period of Greek art is attraction enough in itself to call travelers of
taste to Copenhagen. After spending some hours in Thorwaldsen's
Museum, I went to see the study of Oersted, where his most impor
tant discovery of the deflection of the needle by a galvanic current
was made, which laid the foundation of the science of electro-mag
netism, and without which my invention could not have been made.
It is now a drawing-school. I sat at the table where he made his
discovery. We went to the Porcelain Manufactory, and singularly
enough met there the daughter of Oersted, to whom I had the pleas
ure of an introduction. Oersted was a most amiable man, and uni
versally beloved. The daughter is said to resemble her father in
her features, and 1 traced a resemblance to him in the small porce
lain bust, which I came to the manufactory to purchase. Mr. B

kindly gave me a medallion struck in honor of Oersted's discovery.

" I feel under great obligations to all these good people. We
left Copenhagen and its hospitable people with reluctance. But
our time was limited, and so on the 24th of July (dear Arthur's
birthday) we embarked on a neat little steamer that had arrived at
Copenhagen on its way to St. Petersburg from Hull in England.

63-4

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE.

Her name is Falcon, and her commander has an appropriate name
as her captain, Captain Fowler; we find him a worthy and obliging
man. Such a passage I never before made up to this date (July
27th noon) ; for three days and three nights the weather has been
perfectly clear and calm, the sea smooth ; not once has the vessel
been off an even keel ; we have had a whole cabin to ourselves,
good food, and but three other passengers in the other cabin, a gen
tleman and two ladies, Scotch, quiet and agreeable. Last night
Louisa and I sat up till after midnight to witness a night without
darkness. Though somewhat late in the season to see the night of
these northern latitudes in the longest days to the greatest advan
tage, yet we witnessed such a one as we never before saw. The
sun dipped below the horizon in the northwest at half-past eight
o'clock, but the twilight continued so bright, gradually passing to
the north and northeast, that at midnight we could read large printed
letters without difficulty. To vary the scene, the moon, in its last
quarter, arose in the northeast on the eastern edge of the twilight,
a very unusual place (as you will perceive on reflection) to see an
evening moon. A few clouds of the stratus character, low down,
lent an additional lustre to the red and apple-colored twilight by
their contrasted darkness. All else was clear and calm. We staid
on deck till the evening twilight became the morning twilight ; and,
when it had so far brightened that we could see to read print of a
less size, we retired to rest, and found ourselves, on waking this
beautiful calm Sunday morning, rapidly closing our pleasant passage,
three o'clock p. M. finding us within sight of the formidable and
extensive fortress -of Cronstadt.

"Si. PETERSBURG, August 8, 1856.

" My letter was abruptly interrupted by the bustle and confusion
of our arrival in a strange and unimagined country, and studying
its novel forms and customs. Americans are particularly struck
with the strictness of the custom-house and police regulations,
although as it regards the former we had less trouble and were
treated with more politeness and less inconvenience than we have
been in most other countries. We were detained at Cronstadt
about two hours, passing the ordeal of the police, and, leaving our
steamer, with our luggage, embarked on board another steamer for
St. Petersburg, seventeen miles distant. We passed up the Neva
about eight o'clock and landed amid hundreds of people at the cus
tom-house landing, when our luggage went through a very slight
examination, the fact that we were Americans finding us favor with

NOSEGAYS OF DIAMONDS. 635

all, with officers and people. We took two or three droskies and
drove to a house kept by an Englishwoman of the name of Benson,
but which we found full, so that we were compelled to take to our
droskies again and drive to the Hotel de Russie, where we are well
lodged, and shall remain during our stay here ; we were tired enough
when we entered our rooms, and glad to go to our beds.

" Up to this date we have been in one constant round of visits to
the truly wonderful objects of curiosity in this magnificent city. I
have seen, as you know, most of the great and marvelous cities of
Europe, but, I can truly say, none of them can at all compare in
splendor and beauty to St. Petersburg. It is a city of palaces, and
palaces of the most gorgeous character. The display of wealth in
the palaces and churches is so great that the simple truth told about
them would incur to the narrator the suspicion of romancing.
England boasts of her regalia in the Tower, her crown jewels, her
Kohinoor diamond, etc. I can assure you they fade into insignifi
cance, as a rushlight before the sun, when brought before the wealth
in jewels and gold seen here in such profusion. What think you
of nosegays, as large as those our young ladies take to parties,
composed entirely of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and
other precious stones, chosen to represent accurately the colors
of various flowers — the imperial crown, globular in shape, com
posed of diamonds, and containing in the centre of the Greek
cross which surmounts it an unwrought ruby at least two inches
in diameter ? The sceptre has a diamond very nearly as large as
the Kohinoor. At the Arsenal at Tsarskoe-selo we saw the trap
pings of a horse, bridle, saddle, and all the harness, with an
immense saddle-cloth, set with tens of thousands of diamonds;
on those parts of the harness where we have rosettes, or knobs,
or buckles, were rosettes of diamonds an inch and a half to two
inches in diameter, with a diamond in the centre as large as the
first joint of your thumb, or say three-quarters of an inch in di
ameter. Other trappings were as rich. Indeed, there seemed to be
no end to the diamonds. All the churches are decorated in the most
costly manner with diamonds, and pearls, and precious stones."

Hon. Thomas H. Seymour was the United States Minister
at St. Petersburg at this time, and Mr. J. Pierce, Jr., the secre
tary of legation. They received Mr. Morse and his party with
the greatest cordiality, and extended to them every courtesy that
would be accorded to the most distinguished Americans. Din-

636

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

ners, parties, and receptions, followed each other in rapid succes
sion! In a letter to his children at home, Prof essor Morse gives
a brilliant description of his presentation at court, and his ac
count is the more entertaining because of those minute and
delicate touches which a father writing to his children, and to
them only, would give :

PROFESSOR MORSE TO HIS CHILDREN.

" PETERHOFF, SEVENTEEN MILES FROM ST. PETERSBURG (RUSSIA), >

"August 14, 1856. j"
" MY DEAR DAUGHTER SlTSAN, AND THE GROVITES GENERALLY I

Yesterday I received notice from Prince Gortchakoff, Minister of
Foreign Affairs, through our minister, Mr. Seymour, that his imperial
Majesty the Emperor had appointed the hour of half-past one this
day to see me at his palace at Peterhoff.

" On our arrival at the quay at Peterhoff, we found, somewhat to
my surprise, the imperial carriages in waiting for us, each carriage
with a coachman and two footmen in imperial livery, which is scarlet
and gold lace, with towering chapeaux bras, edged with broad gold-
lace. Our party occupied two of the carriages, which drove rapidly
by all other carriages, and through people with their heads uncov
ered as we passed, which, to us republicans, was something new ;
and were set down at our quarters in one of the palace buildings
in the extensive gardens specially appropriated to our party. Here
we were attended by four or five servants in scarlet livery loaded
with gold lace, and shown to our apartments, upon the doors of
which were our names respectively. After throwing off our over
coats, the servants inquired if we would have breakfast — to which,
of course, we had no objection ; and an excellent one, of coffee and
sandwiches, was soon upon the table, served up on silver, with the
imperial arms upon the waiter, spoons, etc. Every thing about our
rooms— which consisted of a parlor and bedrooms attached— was
plain, but exceedingly clean and neat. After seeing us well housed,
our attendant chamberlain left us to prepare ourselves for the pre
sentation, saying he would call for us at the proper time. As there
were two or three hours to spare, I took occasion to improve the
time, to commence this brief notice of the events of the day.

"About two o'clock, our attendant, who gave his name as
Thorner, an officer under the principal chamberlain, called to say
our carriages were ready. On descending our staircase, through
rows of liveried servants, we found three carriages in waiting, with

CONVERSATION WITH THE EMPEROR. C37

the imperial livery, and splendid black horses, three servants to each
carriage, as before, but in blue and gold-lace two inches at least
broad, and the double-headed eagle emblazoned upon it at intervals
of about four inches. We seated ourselves in the carriages, which
were then driven at a rapid rate to the great and principal palace,
the entrance to which is most picturesquely placed to overlook the
numerous and magnificent fountains so celebrated at Peterhoff.
Hundreds of well-dressed people thronged each side of the carriage
way, as we drove up to the door, where we were set down in turn.
After alighting, we were ushered through a long hall by an officer
richly dressed, and having upon his head a cap with black feathers,
much like the Highlander's cap ; we passed through two lines of
liveried servants, that manned the sides of the hall and staircase,
to the entrance of the anteroom — the last two of these officials
being Africans of the darkest complexion, and dressed with Turkish
turban, etc. We passed through the anteroom to a large and mag
nificent room, where were assembled those who were to be pre
sented. The master of ceremonies led the way to the southern
veranda, which overlooked the gardens, ranging us in a line, and
reading our names from a list, to see if we were truly mustered,
after which a door suddenly opened, and the Emperor Alexander II.
entered. He was dressed in military costume, a blue sash was
across his breast, passing over the right shoulder ; on his left breast
were stars and orders. He commenced at the head of the column,
which consisted of some fourteen or fifteen persons, and on the
pronouncing of the name by the master of ceremonies, he addressed
a few words to each. When he came to me, the master of cere
monies mistook my name, calling me Mr. Moore ; I instantly cor
rected him, and said, 'No, Morse.' The emperor at once said,
kindly, ' Ah, that name is well known here ; your system of tele
graph is in use in Russia. How long have you been in St. Peters
burg, and how have you enjoyed yourself?' To which I appropri
ately replied. After a few more unimportant questions and answers,
the .emperor addressed himself to the other gentlemen, and retired.
After remaining a few moments, the master of ceremonies — who,
by-the-by, apologized to me for miscalling my name — opened a door
from the veranda into the large drawing-room of the empress,
where we were again put in line to await the appearance of her
imperial Majesty. The doors of an adjoining room were suddenly
thrown open, and the empress, gorgeously but appropriately at
tired, advanced toward us. She .addressed a few words gracefully

638

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

to each of us in succession, approaching us as our names were
called. The impression left upon my mind in regard to both the
emperor and empress is that they are amiable and kind-hearted,
with sufficient firmness in the emperor's temperament to prevent
these gentle virtues from degenerating into weakness. After speak
ing to each of us in perfect English, she gracefully bowed (we, of
course, returning the salutation) and retired, followed by her maids-
of-honor, her long train sweeping the floor for a distance of several
yards behind her. . . .

" On our return to our rooms, we dressed for dinner, and pro
ceeded in the same manner to the palace" in the gardens, called the
English Palace. Here we found assembled, in the great reception-
room, the distinguished company, in number forty-seven, of many
nations, who were to sit down to table together. When dinner
was announced, we entered the grand dining-hall, and found a table
most gorgeously prepared with gold and silver service and flow^ers.
At table, I found myself opposite three princes, an Austrian, a
Hungarian, and one from some other German state ; and second
from me, on my left, was Lord Ward, of England, with whom I had
a good deal of conversation. Opposite to me, and farther to my
right, was Prince Esterhazy, seated between Lady Granville and
the beautiful Lady Emily Peel ; on the other side of Lady Peel was
Lord Granville, the principal and special delegate from England to
the coronation ceremonies at Moscow, and near him sat Sir Robert
Peel. Among the guests, a list of which I regret I could not ob
tain, was the young Earl of Lincoln, and several other noblemen,
in the suite of Lord Granville. Here, then, was a rare assemblage ;
English, French, Austrians, Sardinians, Italians, and Americans,
gathered at table in a palace of the Emperor of Russia. Some
twenty servants in the imperial scarlet . livery waited upon the
table, which was served in a truly royal profusion and costliness.
The rarest dishes and the costliest wines, in every variety, were put
before us. I need not say that, in such an assemblage, every thing
was conducted with the highest decorum. No noise, no boisterous
mirth, no loud laughing or talking, but a quiet cheerfulness and
perfect ease characterized the whole entertainment. After the
dinner, all arose, both ladies and gentlemen, and left the room to
gether.

" We remained in the large hall for coffee, but, being fearful
that we should be too late for the last steamer from Peterhoff to St.
Petersburg, we were hurrying to get through and to leave, but the

ENGLISH NOBLEMEN. 639

moment our fears came to the knowledge of Lord Granville, he
most kindly came to us and told us to feel at ease, as his steam-
yacht was lying off the quay to take them up to the city, and he was
but too proud to have the opportunity of offering us a place on
board — an offer which we of course accepted with thanks. Having
thus been, entertained with truly imperial hospitality for the entire
day, ending with this sumptuous entertainment, we descended once
more to the carriages, and drove to the quay, where a large and
commodious barge, belonging to the English man-of-war Jean
d'Acre (the ship put in commission for the service of Lord Gran-
ville), manned by stalwart man-of-war's men, was waiting to take
the English party of nobles on board the steam-yacht. When all
were collected on the quay, we left Peterhoff in the barge, and were
soon on board the yacht. The weather was fine, and the moon soon
rose over the palace of Peterhoff, looking for a moment like one of
the splended gilded domes of the palace. On board the yacht, I had
much conversation with Lord Granville, who brought the various
members of his suite and introduced me to them — to Sir Robert
Peel ; to the young Earl of Lincoln, the son of the Duke of New
castle, who, when himself the Earl of Lincoln, in 1839, showed me
so muqh courtesy and kindness in London ; to Mr. Acton, a nephew
of Lord Granville, with whom I had some interesting conversation.
We landed at the quay in St. Petersburg about eleven o'clock p.
M., and I reached my lodgings at the Hotel de Russie about mid
night, thus ending a day of incidents which I shall remember with
great gratification.

" Having completed, as far as such a flying visit would allow,
our sight-seeing in this beautiful and interesting city, we the next
day, August 15th, prepared for our departure for Stettin, on our re
turn toward home, having remained longer than we originally in
tended in this part of the world. In the evening, we paid our part
ing visit to our amiable and kind Minister, Mr. Seymour, taking tea
with many Americans at his house.

" In the morning we took our leave of St. Petersburg, embark
ing with Major Barnes and lady, of Springfield, Massaclmsetts, and
Mr. Edward Bell and lady, of New York, on board the steamer for
Cronstadt, to be received at Cronstadt on board the Prussian mail-
steamer Prussian Eagle, for Stettin. The morning of Saturday,
the 16th of August, was somewhat unpromising, threatening rain,
but, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Shaffner, and young Nicolai
Bodisco, a son of the late Baron Bodisco, Russian Minister in the

640

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

United States, we set out for Cronstadt, leaving the quay and the
Neva at twelve o'clock. Mr. Seymour intended to accompany us as
far as Cronstadt, but, supposing our boat did not leave till one
o'clock, he was left behind. Before we reached Cronstadt, a settled
rain set in, much to our discomfort, and we got on board the steam
er Prussian Eagle not under the most favorable circumstances, but
the boat was large, neat, and generally commodious, one with an
obliging captain ; there was one exception, and a very important
one, too, to the commodiousness of the boat ; the sleeping-apart
ments were the smallest I ever saw on any boat, even a Long Isl
and Sound wood-boat contains larger and better accommodations in
this respect ; they have no conveniences of shelves or hooks to stow
away our clothing. The berths were so narrow that I lay in mine
as I would in a coffin, with no room to raise my head any more than
if lying between two shelves.

" In the evening, to our gratification, the weather cleared, and
the voyage, from Saturday noon till Monday night, was like the voy
age from Copenhagen to St. Petersburg, beautifully clear and calm,
with a smooth sea, and I began to have quite a favorable idea of the
character of the Baltic Sea, as a most amiable and gentle piece of
water ; but, as if conscience-stricken that such a false impression of
its real character should go forth to the world, the sky on Monday
evening put on a frown of clouds ; the wind rose, and our little steamer
began to dance to the piping winds so ungracefully that most of our
passengers (some fifty in number) were glad to retire early to their
berths. The morning of Tuesday, the 19th, broke in tears, but not
until we had made good our landfall, and the Swinemunde light
house loomed up in the fog, and showed us our entrance into the
Oder, into which we soon entered upon smooth water, and moored
for a few moments at the custom-house wharf. We then proceeded
up the winding river for two or three hours, and arrived at Stettin
just in time to be too late for the noon train to Berlin. So we
quietly wended our way to the Hotel de Prussie, had a good dinner,
rested ourselves comfortably, and at six took our seats in the cars
for Berlin, where we arrived in the rain, which more or less pur
sued us all the day, at ten o'clock, and at this present writing, the
morning of August 20th, find ourselves comfortably housed at the
excellent H6tel St.-P<§tersbourg, on the Unter den Linden.

;< Saturday Evening, August 23d— Yesterday we had a pleas
ant dinner-party at our excellent Minister's,. Governor Vroom, and
met there several Americans. To-day I went to Potsdam to see

HUMBOLDT IN HIS STUDY. 641

Baron Humboldt, and had a delightful interview with this wonder
ful man. Although I had met with him at the soirees of Baron
Gerard, the distinguished painter, in Paris, in 1832, and afterward
at the Academy of Sciences, when my Telegraph was exhibited to
the assembled academicians in 1838, I took letters of introduction
to him from Baron Gerolt, the Prussian Minister, but they were un
necessary, for the moment I entered his room, which is in the Royal
Palace, he called me by name and greeted me most kindly, saying,
as I presented my letters, ' Oh, sir, you need no letters, your name
is a sufficient introduction;' and, so seating myself, he rapidly
touched upon various topics relating to America. He was enthusi
astic in his praise of Professor Dana's work on the geology of the
countries he visited with Captain Wilkes, saying it was the most
splendid contribution to science of the present day ; a compliment of
some significance, when we consider the source whence it comes.

" And now good-by ; kiss those dear little ones for me. Arthur,
I hope, is a good boy, and gives you no trouble ; and sweet Leila,
tell her she must not forget dear papa and mamma ; and my darling
little Willie, tell him papa loves him dearly, and longs to carry him
in his arms to bed, and hear him say his prayers. Well, in good
time, if God wills, we shall all meet again. I cannot send my love
to little Charley any more, but to tall Charley, and to him give
grandpapa's hearty love, and indeed to all the dear ones of every
degree and connection, both at the Grove and at Newark. May we
not look for another deluge f In our family, at least, they seem to
be ' marrying and giving in marriage.''

" Your affectionate father,

"SAMUEL F. B. MOBSE."

Professor Morse's niece (now Mrs. Parmalee), in one of her
letters mentions the visit to the study of Humboldt, which has
been alluded to above. She writes :

" He came forward and received us very cordially, with no stiff
ness or formality. He is quite short, stoops a little, and holds his
head slightly toward one side. He talked very fast, so that I could
scarcely understand him. His library was very simply furnished,
the walls on all sides were lined with bookcases ; two or three
tables, in the middle of the room, were strewed with papers, pam
phlets, etc. Before we left, the baron presented uncle with an im
perial photograph of himself, on the margin of which he wrote an

inscription in French :
41

643 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" ' To Mr. S. F. B. Morse, whose philosophic and useful labors
have rendered his name illustrious in two worlds. The homage of

the hio-h and affectionate esteem of

" ' ALEXANDER HUMBOLDT.
" * POTSDAM, August, 1856.'

"His secretary accompanied us through the gardens of Sans-
Souci, and from him we learned something of the habits of this re
markable man. He told us how he portioned off each day exactly,
saying that Humboldt only allowed four hours for sleep — from two
o'clock A. M. till six o'clock. Then he arose, breakfasted at nine
o'clock ; then walked till ten o'clock ; read his letters and papers
till one o'clock; received visitors till four o'clock; then dressed,
and, when he had no other engagement, dined with the king at six
o'clock, and spent the evening there till ten o'clock. From that
time till two o'clock in the morning, he passed in his library at his
studies. This had been his rule for years."

This journey of pleasure was extended to Cologne, Aix-la-
Chapelle, Brussels, Paris, and then to London, where Professor
Morse arrived in the latter part of the month of September,
1856. The Atlantic cable enterprise was the engrossing topic
among men of science at that moment. A letter of Professor-
Morse to Baron Humboldt indicates the minute attention he
was giving to this work :

"LONDON, October 7, 1856.

" MY DEAR BARON : You will doubtless have read of the achieve
ment of sounding the Atlantic Ocean between Newfoundland and
Ireland, by order of the American Secretary of the Navy, expressly
for the New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Cable,
under the immediate direction of that expert navigator, Lieuten
ant O. H. Berryman, of the American Navy, in the U. S. steamer
Arctic, with a view to explore lthe telegraphic plateau ' of our dis
tinguished savant, Lieutenant Maury, whose ingenious specula
tions respecting its character, from a partial previous survey, have
been so beautifully verified by a more complete survey. It is with
great pleasure that I am enabled to send you a copy of the draft
made of this survey by Lieutenant Berryman, which I had made
expressly to send you, knowing the great interest you feel in every
advance in science. I could have wished to send you at the same
time a specimen of the bottom obtained from each sounding, and,
if possible, will yet do so before I embark for the United States.

MORSE TO -HUMBOLDT. 643

There will shortly be published engravings of some of the infusoria,
as viewed in the microscope, copies of which I have requested shall
be forwarded to you.

" You will be gratified also to learn that experiments made un
der the direction of Dr. Whitehouse, an acute investigator of elec
trical phenomena, and Mr. Bright, the experienced and ingenious
Superintendent of the Electric Telegraphs, assisted by myself, on
Thursday last, most satisfactorily solved the problem of the practi
cability of telegraphing from Newfoundland to Ireland. A subter
ranean line of one continuous conductor of more than two thou
sand English miles, was at our disposal, and we succeeded in pass
ing signals through its entire length at the rate of, 210, 241, and
at one moment of 270, per minute. The scientific and commercial
problem of an ocean-telegraph, I conceive, is thus satisfactorily
solved. The pecuniary aid for its practical accomplishment is at
hand, and there only remains that service which the proper manu
facture of the cable and the nautical skill in laying it in its ocean-
bed demand, to insure the accomplishment of the grand enterprise
of uniting the two worlds in telegraphic bonds.

" You will excuse my enthusiasm, my dear baron, if I say that I
confidently anticipate the successful accomplishment of this enter
prise in less than one year from this time, and the possibility of
sending you a dispatch from my home on the Hudson River to
Potsdam in less than five minutes of time. I look with sanguine
hopes to this consummation."

These scientific experiments, conducted by Professor Morse
and the gentlemen with whom he was associated while in Lon
don, were reported to Mr. Field :

"LONDON, FIVE O'CLOCK A. M., October ?. 185Ci.

" As the electrician of the New York, Newfoundland, and Lon
don Telegraph Company, it is with the highest gratification that I
have to apprise you of the result of our experiments of this morning
upon a single continuous conductor of more than two thousand
•miles in extent, a distance you will perceive sufficient to cross the
Atlantic Ocean from Newfoundland to Ireland.

"The admirable arrangements made at the Magnetic Telegraph-
Office in Old Broad Street, for connecting ten subterranean gutta-
percha insulated conductors, of over two hundred miles each, so as
to give one continuous length of more than two thousand miles dur
ing the hours of the night, when the Telegraph is not commercially

I

644 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

employed, furnished us the means of conclusively settling, by actual
experiment, the question of the practicability as well as the practi
cality of telegraphing through our proposed Atlantic cable.

" This result had been thrown into some doubt by the discovery,
more than two years since, of certain phenomena upon subterranean
and submarine conductors, and had attracted the attention of elec
tricians, particularly of that most eminent philosopher, Professor
Faraday, and that clear-sighted investigator of electrical phenomena,
Dr. Whitehouse; and one of these phenomena, to wit, the percep
tible retardation of the electric current, threatened to perplex our
operations, and required careful investigation before we could pro
nounce with certainty the commercial practicability of the Ocean-
Telegraph.

" I am most happy to inform you that, as a crowning result of a
long series" of experimental investigation and inductive reasoning
upon this subject, the experiments under the direction of Dr. White-
house and Mr. Bright, whiclj I witnessed this morning — in which
the induction-coils and receiving-magnets, as modified by these gen
tlemen, were made to actuate one of my recording instruments —
have most satisfactorily resolved all doubts of the practicability as
well as practicality of operating the Telegraph from Newfoundland
to Ireland.

"Although we telegraphed signals at the rate of 210, 241, and,
according to the count at one time, even of 270 per minute upon my
telegraphic register (which speed, you will perceive, is at a rate
commercially advantageous), these results were accomplished not
withstanding many disadvantages in our arrangements of a tempo
rary and local character — disadvantages which will not occur in the
use of our submarine cable.

" Having passed the whole night with my active and agreeable
collaborators, Dr. Whitehouse and Mr. Bright, without sleep, you
will excuse the hurried and brief character of this note, which I
could not refrain from sending you, since our experiments this morn
ing settle the scientific and commercial points of cur enterprise sat
isfactorily.

" With respect and esteem, your obedient servant,

" SAMUEL F. B. MORSE."

A week later lie writes again :

"LONDON, October 10, 1856.

"MYDEAK SIR: After having given the deepest consideration
to the subject of our successful experiment the other night, when

MORSE TO FIELD. G45

we signaled clearly and rapidly through an unbroken circuit of
subterranean wire over two thousand miles in length, I sit down to
give you the result of my reflections and calculations.

" There can be no question but that, with a cable containing a
single conducting wire, of a size not exceeding that through which
we worked, and with equal insulation, it would be easy to telegraph
from Ireland to Newfoundland at a speed of at least from eight to
ten words per minute ; nay, more : the varying rates of speed at
which we worked, depending as they did upon differences in the
arrangement of the apparatus employed, do of themselves prove
that even a higher rate than this is attainable. Take it, however,
at ten words in the minute, and allowing ten words for name and
address, we can safely calculate upon the transmission of a twenty-
word message in three minutes ;

" Twenty such messages in the hour ;

" Four hundred and eighty in the twenty-four hours, or fourteen
thousand four hundred words per day.

" Such are the capabilities of a single-wire cable fairly and mod
erately computed.

" It is, however, evident to me, that, by improvements in the
arrangement of the signals themselves, aided by the adoption of a
code or system constructed upon the principles of the best nautical
code, as suggested by Dr. Whitehouse, we may at least double the
speed in the transmission of our messages.

"As to the structure of the cable itself, the last specimen which
I examined with you seemed to combine so admirably the necessary
qualities of strength, flexibility, and lightness, with perfect insula
tion, that I can no longer- have any misgivings about the ease and
safety with which it will be submerged.

" In one word, the doubts are resolved, the difficulties overcome,
success is within our reach, and the great feat of the century must
shortly be accomplished.

" I would urge you, if the manufacture can be completed within
the time (and all things are possible now), to press forward the
good work, and not to lose the chance of laying it during the en
suing summer.

" Before the close of the present month, I hope to be again
landed safely on the other side of the water, and I full well know
that on all hands the inquiries of most interest with which I shall
be met will be about the Ocean Telegraph.

" Much as I have enjoyed my European trip this year, it would

C46

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

enhance the gratification which I have derived from it more than T
can describe to you, if, on my return to America,! could be the first
bearer to my friends of the welcome intelligence that the great
work had been begun, by the commencement of the manufacture
of the cable to connect Ireland with the line of the New York,
Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company, now so success
fully completed to St. John's. Respectfully, your obedient servant,

"SAMUEL F. B. MOESE.
" To CYRUS W. FIELD, Esq, Vice-President, etc."

These experiments scattered the last doubts of the practica
bility of the enterprise. Individuals and governments yielded
to the force of truth, and the work was begun.

BANQUET IN LONDON TO PROFESSOR MORSE.

The last place where Professor Morse could reasonably have
expected the honor of a public dinner was the city of London.
His most ungracious and unjust treatment there when a patent
was refused him in 1838, was a life-long grievance. But now,
eighteen years afterward, he comes back in triumph. The world
has pronounced upon his merits and his rights, and accorded to
him the honor which England had persistently denied. He was
now invited to a banquet by the Telegraph companies, in dis
tinct acknowledgment of his services ! And at the head of the
table, as the chairman, sat Mr. W. F. Cooke, who had been the
partner of "Wheatstone, whose claims had been preferred in
England to those of Professor Morse. The dinner was given
October 9, 1856, at the Albion Tavern. The chairman, in pre
senting Professor Morse to the company, bore this extraordinary
testimony :

" I was consulted only a few months ago on the subject of a
telegraph, for a country in which no telegraph at present exists. I
recommended the system of Professor Morse. I believe that system
to be one of the simplest in the world, and in that lies its perma
nency and certainty. [Cheers.] There are others which may be
as good in other circumstances, but for a wide country I hesitate
not to say Professor Morse's is the best adapted. It is a great thing
to say, and I do so after twenty years' experience, that Professor
Morse's system is one of the simplest that ever has been, and I
think ever will be, conceived. [Cheers.] It was a great thing for

MR. COOKE'S TESTIMONY. 647

me, after having been so long connected with the electric telegraph,
to be invited to preside at this interesting meeting; and I have
traveled upward of one hundred miles, in order to be present to-day,
having, when asked to preside, replied by electric telegraph, 41
will.' [Cheers.] But I may lower your idea of the sacrifice I made
in so doing when I tell you that I knew the talents of Professor
Morse, and was only too glad to accept an invitation to do honor
to a man I really honored in my heart. [Cheers.] I have been
thinking, during the last few days, on what Professor Morse has
done. He stands alone in America as the originator and carrier
out of a grand conception. We know that America is an enormous
country, and we know the value of the telegraph, but I think we
have a right to quarrel with Professor Morse for not being content
with giving the benefit of it to his own country, but that he ex
tended it to Canada and Newfoundland ; and, even beyond that, his
system has been adopted all over Europe — [cheers] — and the nui
sance is, that we in England are obliged to communicate by means
of his system. [Cheers and laughter.] I, as a director of an elec
tric telegraph company, however, should be ashamed of myself if
I did not acknowledge what we owe him. But he threatens to go
further still, and promises that, if we do not, he will carry out a
communication between England and Newfoundland across the
Atlantic. I am nearly pledged to pay him a visit on the other side
of the Atlantic to see what he is about ; and, if he perseveres in his
obstinate attempt to reach England, I believe I must join him in his
endeavors. [Cheers.] To think that he has united all the stripes
and stars of America, which are increasing day by day — and I hope
they will increase until they are too numerous to mention — that he
has extended his system to Canada, and is about to unite those
portions of the world to Europe, is a glorious thing for any man ; and,
although I have done something in the same cause myself, I confess I
almost envy Professor Morse for having forced from an unwilling
rival a willing acknowledgment of his services. [Cheers.] I am
proud to see Professor Morse this side of the water. I beg to give
you ' The health of Professor Morse,' and may he long live to enjoy
the high reputation he has attained throughout the world ! "

Speeches by distinguished gentlemen followed, all of them
bearing the highest testimony to the merits of the great Ameri
can inventor, whose claims were now beyond question, and
whose system commanded the unqualified favor of the best-in-

64g LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

formed and most practical electricians in the world. On the
day of this banquet, Professor Morse received from Paris,
through Mr. Mason, the American Minister, the information
that the Emperor Napoleon III. had made him a Chevalier of
the Legion of. Honor; and the next day Mr. Tupper sent him
the following lines :

TO PKOFESSOR MORSE,

IN PLEASANT MEMORY OF OCTOBER 9, 1856, AT THE ALBION.

A good and generous spirit ruled the hour ;

Old jealousies were drowned in brotherhood ;
Philanthropy rejoiced that Skill and Power,

Servants to Science, compass all men's good ;

And over all Keligion's banner stood,
Upheld by thee, true patriarch of the plan
Which in two hemispheres was schemed to shower
Mercies from God on universal man.

Yes; this electric chain from East to We.st
More than mere metal, more than mammon can,

Binds us together — kinsmen, in the best,
As most affectionate and frankest bond ;
Brethren as one ; and looking far beyond

The world in an Electric Union blest !

MARTIN F. TUPPER.
ALBURY, GUILFORD.

The London Times of October 13th gave noble testimo
ny to the fact that the labors of Professor Morse were under
stood and appreciated by men of intelligence in England. The
banquet itself was proof of this, and the verdict of the press
confirmed it. The distinguished philanthropist, Robert Owen,
from his retirement, wrote to the Professor, giving his congratu
lations. And Mr. Morse considered his success as complete, now
that England's men of science and men of letters, her greatest
and wisest men, had honored him publicly as the inventor of
the Recording Telegraph.

CHAPTEE XVIII.

185T.

SUBMARINE CABLES — EARLY ATTEMPTS — CONSTEUCTION OF THE CABLES — CON
GRESSIONAL ACTION — PEOFESSOR MOESE, THE ELECTRICIAN — EMBARKS ON
THE NIAGARA LETTERS TO MRS. MORSE EXPERIMENTS WITH DR. WHITE-
HOUSE IN LONDON — LORD MAYOR'S BANQUET — IN PARIS — MR. MASON —

PEOFESSOR MORSE'S CLAIM — RETURN TO LONDON — EMBARKING NARROW

ESCAPES CABLE FESTIVAL — COVE OF CORK AN ACCIDENT VALENTIA

SAILING OF THE EXPEDITION PARTING OF THE CABLE — ATTEMPT ABAN
DONED FOR THE SEASON RETURN TO NEW YORK — MR. FIELD'S EFFORTS

THE SECOND EXPEDITION — FAILURE THIRD EXPEDITION THE CABLE LAID

THE CONTINENTS CONNECTED — FIRST MESSAGE — GREAT REJOICING —

CELEBRATION THE CABLE SILENT EIGHT YEARS — FOURTH EXPEDITION

— GREAT EASTERN — FAILURE — RETURN — FIFTH EXPEDITION — SUCCESS AT
LAST.

FROM the laying of the first submarine cable, the work of
Professor Morse in the harbor of New York in 1842, we
hear of no successful attempts until 1849, when it was proposed
to unite Dover and Calais by a line across the British Channel.
" The wire, it was proved by frequent attempts, could not be
wholly insulated, and the electric fluid, as it passed along the ex
posed portions, was so diffused by contact with the water as to
lose its efficacy. Hemp, saturated with tar, was employed ; but
in course of time it was found that the water penetrated through
that covering, and the project was about being abandoned as
hopeless, when a new material was discovered, which was found
to answer the purpose when every thing else had failed. For
tunately, at this very time, when it was most needed, the valua
ble properties of gutta-percha, and its entire adaptability to this
purpose, were made known. It was tested with the most signal

650

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

success — found not only to resist the action of the water, but
that it was a perfect non-conductor. This important fact once
established, the attempt to construct a submarine telegraph be
tween France and England was made, and with the most grati
fying result. A factory for the manufacture of ' the submarine
telegraph cable,' as it was called, was erected in England in
1850, and by September of that year twenty-four miles of it were
made and ready to be laid down from Calais to Dover. This
cable consisted simply of the copper wire, which was about the
thickness of an ordinary knitting-needle, and was encased with
gutta-percha. At either end, where it lay in shallow water near
the shore, it was protected by a covering of thick iron wire.
The engraving presents the lateral and end sections of this cable
without the wire protector.

" In the following engravings, the inner core, or conductor,
with its gutta-percha coating, is preserved from the action of the
water, and from attrition, by the wire protector.

" This cable was laid in the latter part of August, 1850, be
tween Dover and Calais, Two small steamers were -employed
in laying it, and the work was accomplished in from six to seven
hours. For the purpose of sinking the cable, chunks or weights,
: from fourteen to twenty-four pounds each, were fastened to
istances of the sixteenth of a mile apart. This was an
easy matter, the greatest depth not exceeding two hundred feet
along the course of the line. In the whole length not more
twenty-four miles of cable were paid out, which was only
•ee more than the actual distance between the two points. It
was found, however, a short time after it was laid, that a por-

SUBMARINE CABLES. 651

tion of it had given way, and the communication was inter
rupted. Under these circumstances, it was deemed advisable to
manufacture a cable which would be able to resist all the strain
ing it might be subjected to, and in a comparatively brief period
the required article was produced and successfully laid down be
tween the points already named. This cable was composed of
four copper wires, or conductors, each insulated with gutta-per
cha, and afterward bound together with hemp steeped in a so
lution of tar and tallow. In this condition it had the appear
ance of a rope about an inch in diameter. Outside of the hemp
was the iron wire protector, which increased the diameter to
nearly an inch and a half. Nine miles of this cable were manu
factured every day. In the latter part of May, 1852, Great
Britain and Ireland were brought into instant communication
through the same wonderful agent, the submarine telegraph.
The distance between the points of connection — Holyhead and
Howth — is sixty-five miles, and the greatest depth five hundred
and four feet. There was only one wire in this cable, with the
indispensable coating of gutta-percha, which was protected and
strengthened by the iron wire covering the outside. It was laid
at the rate of four miles an hour, and fell so evenly that only
three miles more than the actual distance traversed was required.
Scotland and Ireland were connected by a cable of six wires,
in May, 1853. The distance is about thirty miles, and was
traversed by the steamer in not more than ten hours. The fol
lowing June a cable was laid from Oxfordness, in England, to
the Hague, in Holland, a distance of one hundred and fifteen
miles. This task was accomplished in thirty-four hours, and
only four and a half miles of cable were required in the paying
out over the actual length from point to point, making hardly
one hundred and twenty miles altogether. It has been already
stated that the New York, Newfoundland and London Tele
graph Company made an attempt in August, 1855, to unite the
islands of Newfoundland and Cape Breton, but the vessels em
ployed in the work were caught in a gale, the cable was obliged
to be cut, and the undertaking abandoned for that time. The
cable, as may be seen by the accompanying engravings, which
show the exact size, had three conductors, and was protected in
the same manner, by iron, wire, as those already described.

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.
THE FIRST GULF-CABLE.

" In 1856 the company succeeded in making the desired tele
graphic connection between the opposite shores of Newfound
land and Cape Breton. This time they rejected the three-wire
cable and procured a much lighter one, with a single wire, con
sisting of seven strands. This strand was covered with three
layers of the purest gutta-percha, separately applied. In the sub
joined engraving is a correct representation of this cable and of
its exact size.

THE SECOND GULF-CABLE.

" A few weeks after the allied army entered the Crimea, a
single-wire cable was laid across the Black Sea, a distance of
three hundred and seventy-four miles, between Yarna and Ba-
laklava, and it was through this that the English and French
Governments were apprised every day of the movements of the
belligerent forces on either side."

This brief outline of the progress of submarine cables was
prepared under the eye of Professor Morse when the great ex
pedition of 1857 was about to sail, to lay the cable across the
Atlantic Ocean. It was accompanied also with a minute de
scription of the great Atlantic cable. The core, or conductor,
was composed, like that of the gulf -cable, of seven copper wires,
wound together in the same manner. The cable was twenty-

MORSE IN LONDON AND PARIS. 653

five hundred miles in length, the surplus over the actual dis
tance to be traversed being considered necessary in case of
emergency to make up for the inequalities in the bed of the
ocean and the variations that might be caused by the winds and
currents. The protecting wires were made into strands, each

composed of seven of the best charcoal-iron wires. The aggre
gate length of the smaller wires required in the manufacture of
one mile of the cable was one hundred and twenty-six miles,
and the ivhole cable required three hundred and fifteen thousand
'miles of this wire.

" The flexibility of this cable was so great that it could be
made as manageable as a small rope, and was capable of being
tied round the arm without injury. Its weight was but 1,800
pounds to the mile, and its strength such that it would bear in
water over six miles of its own length if suspended vertically."

As the electrician of the company, Mr. Morse's responsibility
was great, but, the cable having been made in England, the
officers there had ii in charge. He embarked at New York on
the steam-frigate Niagara, April 21, 1857, to go abroad and give
personal attention to the great work. The daily letters that he
wrote on board the ship, to his family at home, disclose the in
tense anxiety he felt at every stage of the enterprise. On arriv
ing in London he was hospitably received by Dr. Whitehouse,
and entertained at his house in Greenwich. He was invited to
dine at the Lord Mayor's, and honored with every attention by
men who appreciated the work he had done and was doing.
While the vessels were delayed in taking the cable on board, he
visited Paris by invitation of Mr. Mason, the American Minister,
and had interviews with the Prime-Minister of France. In one
of his playful letters to his family, he writes :

" While I was at Mr. Mason's, one of the young ladies came
running to me and said that Lady Elgin was at the door, to make

654 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE.

a call ; so I went with Mr. Mason to the hall-door, and was intro-
duced'to Lady Elgin, the widow of Lord Elgin, who was so kind to
me in Paris in 1838- '39. She. had an attack of paralysis, which
rendered her lower limbs useless, about the same time that Mr.
Mason suffered from a like attack a few years ago. She was drawn
to the door in a little hand-carriage, and did not alight ; so we all
sat on the steps, and had a pleasant conversation with her. When
my name was mentioned, she said she had often heard her husband
speak of me and of the Telegraph. She put me very much in mind
of my mother, in her last days. I learned an anecdote of her and
Lord Elgin, after she had left. It seems she was the second wife
of Lord Elgin, who had first married a very beautiful woman. This
first wife was about to visit Italy with her husband. Their prepa
rations had all been made, but, owing to some unforeseen circum
stance, Lord Elgin was obliged to remain some weeks longer, and,
not wishing to disappoint his wife, gave her in charge of a friend
of his (a Mr. Patterson), to accompany her to Italy, where he pro
posed to join them in the course of two or three weeks. Mr. Patter
son was a good-looking man, while Lord Elgin was far from being
so. Mr. Patterson proved himself a villain ; he took advantage of
his position, and betrayed the confidence of Lord Elgin, and pre
vailed on the lady to elope with him. Of course the result was
divorce ; and Lord Elgin then married the lady whom I saw. The
first Lady Elgin, after the divorce, married Patterson. It so hap
pened that Lord and Lady Elgin were in a part of the country
where his former wife and Patterson lived, and had proposed to
visit a family, which the Pattersons also visited. Something pre
vented Lord and Lady Elgin from fulfilling their engagement with
punctuality, and they did not arrive at their friend's house until some
hours after the time. The first salutation of the lady of the house
to Lady Elgin was, ' I am so glad that you did not come at the time
you had appointed, for if you had you would have met here Mrs.
Patterson, and I have been nervous all the time lest you should en
counter her ; it would have been so disagreeable to you.' * Not at
all,' said Lady Elgin, « I should have been glad of the opportunity
to thank her for surrendering to me so excellent a husband.' "

Keturning to London, and still delayed,' he writes again to
his wife and children :

t{ " GREENWICH, July 24, 1857.

Yesterday was a most exciting day. Sir Culling Eardley, whose
name is well known in the religious world, and who lives at Erith,

MORSE'S REMARKS. 655

in Kent, not many miles from here, invited the officers and crew of
the Agamemnon, the principals and men of the manufacturers of the
cable, Messrs. Glass & Co., to a grand fete champttre at his splendid
place. Besides these, invitations were sent to a large circle of the
nobility, ladies and gentlemen, to the Atlantic Telegraph Company,
to the officers of the American frigates, etc. The account of the
whole matter will be in the papers this morning."

At this festival, when Professor Morse was called out to
speak for the scientific men of the expedition, he was received
with great applause, and is reported in the papers as saying in
the conrse of his remarks : " We may not then concentrate our
plaudits upon any one individual. Many divide the honors.
Time would fail me were I to mention their names, and time
must not be taken from the enjoyments of the occasion so gen
erously and magnificently provided by our noble host. [Cheers.]
It is an unusual spectacle to see England and America, with
blended flags, thus united with ships-of-war, not for conquest,
nor in hostile array, but in the great interest of universal peace.
Is it not an omen of good to mankind •? May God bless the en
terprise ! If he bless it, it succeeds ; if not, it surely fails."

The departure of the expedition was also attended with sol
emn religious services in which the Divine favor was humbly
invoked. From the Cove of Cork lie wrote to his wife :

" "When I wrote the finishing sentence of my last letter I was
suffering a little from a slight accident to my leg. We were laying
out the cable from the two ships, the Agamemnon and Niagara, to
connect the two halves of the cable together, to experiment through
the whole length of twenty-five hundred miles for the first time.
In going down the sides of the Agamemnon, I had to cross over
several small boats to reach the outer one, which was to take me on
board the tug which had the connecting cable on board ; in stepping
from one to the other of the small boats, the water being very rough,
and the boats having a good deal of motion, I made a misstep, my
right leg being on board the outer boat, and my left leg went down
between the two boats, scraping the skin from the upper part of the
leg near the knee for some two or three inches. It pained me a little,
but not much. Still, I knew from experience that, however slight,
and comparatively painless at the time, I should be laid up the next

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

day, and possibly for several days. My warm-hearted, generous
fiiend, Sir William O'Shauglmessy, was on board, and, being a sur
geon lie at once took it in hand, and dressed it, tell Susan, in good
// t/dropathic style, with cold water. I felt so little inconvenience
from it at the time, that I assisted throughout the day in laying the
cable, and operating through it after it was joined, and had the sat
isfaction of witnessing the successful result of passing the electricity
through twenty -five hundred miles, at the rate of one signal in one
and a quarter second. Since then, Dr. Whitehouse has succeeded
in telegraphing a message through it at the rate of a single signal
in three-quarters of a second. If the cable, therefore, is successfully
laid, so as to preserve continuity throughout, there is no doubt of
our being able to telegraph through, and at a good commercial speed.
I have been on my back for two days, and am still confined to the
ship. To-morrow I hope to be well enough to hobble on board the
Agamemnon, and assist in some experiments.

" August 3d, Monday morning^ eleven o'clock A. M. — I am still
confined, most of the time on my back in my berth, quite to my an
noyance in one respect, to wit, that I am unable to be on board the
Agamemnon with Dr. Whitehouse to assist at the experiments.
Yet, I have so much to be thankful for that gratitude is the pre
vailing feeling.

" Our success in the electrical experiments is most gratifying.
Mrs. Whitehouse showed me a strip of paper marked on my register
with my alphabetic characters, beautifully made, through the whole
cable of twenty-five hundred miles, arid with a feeble sand-battery
of only twelve plates, like one of those in gutta-percha boxes in my
instrument-room. Tf the nautical and engineering departments
perform their part successfully, we are now sure of success.

" Seven o'clock.— M\ the ships are under way from the Cove of
Cork ; the Leopard left first, then the Agamemnon, then the Sus-
quehanna, and the Niagara last ; and at this moment we are all
off the Head of Kinsale, in the following order : Niagara, Leopard,
Agamemnon, Susquehanna. The Cyclops and another vessel, the
Advice, left for Yalentia on Saturday evening, and with a beau
tiful night before us we hope to be there also" by noon to-morrow.
This^day, three hundred and sixty-five years ago, Columbus sailed
on his first voyage of discovery, and discovered America. Good
night, my beloved.

" Tuesday morning, August 4=th, ten A. M.— Off the Skilligs light,
f which I send you a sketch. A beautiful morning, with head

PREPARATIONS. 657

wind and heavy sea, making many sea-sick. We are about fifteen
miles from our point of destination. Our companion-ships are out
of sight astern, except the Susquehanna, which is behind us only
about a mile. In a few hours we hope to reach our expectant
friends in Valentia, and to commence the great work in earnest.
Our ship is crowded with engineers and operators, and delegates
from the Governments of Russia and France ; and the deck is a be
wildering mass of machinery, steam-engines, cog-wheels, breaks,
boilers, ropes of hemp and ropes of wire, buoys and boys, pulleys
and sheaves of wood and iron, cylinders of wood and cylinders of
iron, meters of all kinds, anemometers, thermometers, barometers,
electrometers, steam-gauges, speed-measurers, strain-gauges, ships'
logs, from the common log to Massey's log, and Friend's log, to our
friend Whitehouse's electro-magnetic log, which I think will prove
to be the best of all, with a modification I have suggested; and,
thus freighted, we expect to disgorge most of our solid cargo before
reaching mid-ocean. I am keeping ready to close this at a mo
ment's warning ; so give all manner of love to all friends, kisses to
whom kisses are due. I am getting almost impatient at the delays
we necessarily encounter. But our great work must net be neg
lected. I have seen enough to know now that the Atlantic Tele
graph is sure to be established, for it is practicable. We may not
succeed in our first attempt^ some little neglect or accident may foil
our present efforts, but the present enterprise will result in gather
ing stores of experience which will make the next effort certain.
Not that I do not expect success now, but accidental failure now
will not be the evidence of its impracticability. Our principal
electrical difficulty is the slowness with which we must manipulate
in order to be intelligible. Twenty words in sixteen minutes is
now the rate ; I am confident we can get more after a while, but the
Atlantic Telegraph has its own rate of talking, and cannot be urged
to speak faster any more than any other orator, without danger of
becoming unintelligible.

" Three o'clock P. M. — We are in Valentia harbor. We shall
soon come to anchor. A pilot who has just come to show us our
anchorage-ground says, * There are a power of people ashore.' v

In other letters he gives the minutest details of the delays,
accidents, and fears, by which they were beset, and at length lie
writes :

" August 8th. — Yesterday, at half-past six p. M., all being right,
42

65g LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOKSE.

we commenced again paying out the heavy shore-end, of which we
had about eight miles to be left on the rocky bottom of the coast,
to bear the attrition of the waves, and to prevent injury to the deli
cate nerve which it incloses in its iron mail, and which is the living
principle of the whole work. A critical time was approaching; it
was when the end of the massive cable should pass overboard at
the point where it joins the main and smaller cable. I was in my
berth by order of the surgeon, lest my injured limb, which was
somewhat inflamed by the excitement of the day and too much
walking about, should become worse. Above my head, the heavy
rumbling of the great wheels over which the cable was passing, and
was being regulated, every now and then giving a tremendous
thump, like the discharge of artillery, kept me from sleep, and I
knew they were approaching the critical point. Presently it came ;
the machinery stopped ; and soon amid the voices I heard the un
welcome intelligence, c The cable is broke.' Sure enough, the small
er cable at this point had parted ; but, owing to the prudent pre
cautions of those superintending, the end of the great cable had
been buoyed, and the hawsers which had been attached secured it.
The sea was moderate, the moonlight gave a clear sight of all, and
in half an hour the joyous sound of * All right ! ' was heard, the ma
chinery commenced a low and regular rumbling, like the purring of
a great cat, which has continued from that moment (midnight) till
the present moment uninterrupted. The coil on deck is most beau
tifully uncoiling, at the rate of three nautical miles an hour. The
day is magnificent, the land has almost disappeared, and our com
panion-ships are leisurely sailing with us at equal pace, and we are
all of course in fine spirits. I sent you a telegraph dispatch this
morning, thirty miles out, which you will duly receive, with others
that I shall send if all continues to go on without interruption. If
you do receive any, preserve them with the greatest care, for they
will be great curiosities."

" August IQth, Monday. — Thus far, we have had most delight
ful weather, and every thing goes on regularly and satisfactorily.
You are aware we cannot stop night nor day in paying out. On
Saturday we made our calculations that the first great coil, which is
upon the main deck, would be completely paid out, and one of our
critical moments, to wit, the change from this coil to the next,
which is far forward, would be made by seven or eight o'clock yes
terday morning (Sunday). So we were up and watching the last
flake of the first coil gradually diminishing. Every thing had been

STOP HER! STOP HER!"

659

well prepared : the men were at their posts ; it was an anxious mo
ment, lest a kink might occur, but, as the last round came up, the
motion of the ship was slightly slackened, the men handled the
slack cable handsomely, and in two minutes the change was made
with perfect order, and the paying out from the second coil was as
regularly commenced, and at this moment continues, and at an in
creased rate to-day of five miles per hour.

"Last night, however, was another critical moment. On ex
amining our chart of soundings, we found the depth of the ocean
gradually increasing up to about four hundred fathoms, and then
the chart showed a sudden and great increase to seventeen hundred
fathoms, and then a further increase to two thousand and fifty, nearly
the greatest depth with which we should meet in the whole distance.
We had, therefore, to watch the effect of this additional depth upon
the straining of the cable. At two in the morning, the effect showed
itself in a greater strain, and a more rapid tendency to run fast.
We could check its speed, but it is a dangerous process. Too sud
den a check would inevitably snap the cable. Too slack a rein
would allow of its egress at such a wasting rate, and at such a vio
lent speed, that we should lose too great a portion of the cable, and
its future stopping within controllable limits be almost impossible.
Hence our anxiety. All were on the alert ; our expert engineers
applied the brakes most judiciously, and at the moment I write —
latitude 52° 28' — the cable is being laid at the depth of two miles
in its ocean-bed as regularly, and with as much facility, as it was in
the depth of a few fathoms. After the critical point of change yes
terday from coil one to coil two (there are five coils altogether), we
had our Sunday services on deck. Read the portion of the Psalms,
morning prayer for 9th of the month ; you will see there is much ap-
positeness in its tone and character to our situation. The more I
contemplate this great undertaking, the more I feel my own little
ness, and the more I perceive the hand of God in it, and how he
has assigned to various persons their duties, he being the great
controller, all others his honored instruments. No single human
being can appropriate to himself the exclusive honors of this enter
prise, for in no human being do the various and almost opposite
qualities exist necessary to be combined before it can be consum
mated. Hence our dependence first of all on God, then on each
other.

" Six P. M. — We have just had a fearful alarm. ' Stop her ! stop
her ! ' was reiterated from many voices on deck. On going up I

660

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

perceived the cable had got out of its sheaves, and was running out
at great speed. All was confusion for a few moments. Mr. Can
ning, our friend, who was the engineer of the Newfoundland cable,
showed great presence of mind, and to his coolness and skill I think
is due the remedying of the evil. By rope-stoppers, the cable was
at length brought to a stand-still, and it strained most ominously,
perspiring at every part large tar-drops. But it held together long
enough to put the cable on its sheaves again.

" Tuesday ', August llth.— Abruptly, indeed, am I stopped in my
letter. This morning, at 3.45, the cable parted; and we shall soon
be on our way back to England."

Mr. Charles T. Bright, who was in charge of the paying-out
machine, gave a minute account of the fatal accident. "Its
origin," he says, " was no doubt the amount of retarding strain
upon the cable, but had the machine been properly manipulated
at the time it could not possibly have taken place. I had at
tended personally to the regulation of the breaks; but, find
ing that all was going on well, and it being necessary that I
should be temporarily away from the machine to ascertain the
rate of the ship, and to see how the cable was coming out of
the hold, and also to visit the electrician, the machine was for
the moment left in charge of a mechanic who had been engaged
from the first in its construction and fitting, and was acquainted
with its operation. I was proceeding to the fore-part of the
ship, when I heard the machine stop1; I immediately called out
to ease the break and reverse the engine of the ship, but when
I reached the spot the cable was broken." Professor Morse, the
next day, wrote again to his wife :

" You will perhaps be surprised to learn that I have not left my
berth for three days. The accident to my leg, in the Cove of Cork,
when .engaged in connecting the two halves of the cable, is the
cause. Athough apparently slight, I took too much exercise with
it, and consequently have now been compelled to lie quiet. I do
not suffer except from the irksomeness of the confinement, while so
much of interest has been enacted on deck, which I have not visited
since the parting of the cable. And, moreover, my hurt on the leg
is healing kindly and rapidly."

" August 13, three o'clock p. M.— A beautiful day, and we are
now under full steam and sail for Plymouth. The Agamemnon and

NOT DISCOURAGED. 661

Susquehanna are in sight for the same destination. The Cyclops
took Mr. Field to Yalentia, and the Leopard at the same time
sailed for Plymouth, leaving us to make several important ex
periments bearing upon the Atlantic Telegraph, which consumed
nearly the whole day. I was unable to be on deck, but I learned
the results, which are for the most part very satisfactory. Our
accident will delay the enterprise, but will not defeat it. I con
sider it a settled fact, from all I have seen, that it is perfectly practi
cable. It will surely be accomplished. There is no insurmountable
difficulty that has for a moment appeared, none that has shaken my
faith in it in the slightest degree. My report to the company, as
co-electrician, will show every thing right in that department. We
got an electric current through till the moment of parting, so that
electric connection was perfect, and yet the farther we paid out the
feebler were the currents, indicating a difficulty which, however, I do
not consider serious, while it is of a nature to require attentive in
vestigation."

PEOFESSOE MORSE TO ME. SAWAED.

In the midst of this disappointment, and while still confined
to his berth, Professor Morse addressed a letter to the company :

" UNITED STATES STEAM-FRIGATE NIAGARA^ )
PLYMOUTH HARBOR, August 18, 1857. \

"DEAR SIE: Your letter of the 17th instant is just received,
and to it I send a brief answer by telegraph, as you requested. I
take advantage of Captain Hudson's departure for London to write
to you, since the hurt I received in the Cove of Cork, while con
necting the two parts of the cable, has shown itself to be more
serious than I anticipated, and so confining me to my berth now for
a week, with an uncertain prospect of release ; I am thus unable,
most unfortunately for myself, to be with you in your consultation ;
nevertheless, although deprived of being present in person, I will
venture a few remarks by letter, giving the conclusions to which I
have come in reflecting upon the condition of our enterprise.

" We have met with a misfortune, viewed in some of its aspects,
but in others a providential interference to insure final success. It
is not in accordance with the law of success in any great enterprise
that every part of our plans should go. smoothly forward. Partial
failures ought to be expected, and it is neither wise nor just to leave
such probable failures out of our calculations. What, then, is the
state of the enterprise ? We had a cable of some 2,300 miles. We

663 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

still have some 2,000 miles left, so that the loss is but about 300
miles. What had been gained by this loss ? An amount of expe
rience and knowledge for which the loss of 300 miles of cable is a
cheap purchase. Better to lose 300 miles than the whole cable. It
has been shown by our experience that the rate of safe paying out
will require more surplusage than had been provided. In the deep
est soundings it has been demonstrated that to check the speed of
the cable to accommodate it to the speed of the ship is fatal, and it
has taught us that the proper remedy in such an exigency is to in
crease the speed of the ship, even at the sacrifice of the deposit of
more cable.

" I would say it with all deference, too, that the instructions de
volving so much of duty and responsibility upon the engineers,
and at the same time depriving the nautical department of duties
and responsibilities which appropriately belonged to it, have been
shown by the event to have been injudicious. The safe deposit of
the cable from on shipboard involves duties, it is true, of a mixed
character ; but the duties are more nautical than engineering, and
ought not to have been devolved upon any one individual unless
possessed of the rare qualifications of a knowledge of both depart
ments. Had our ingenious engineer possessed the nautical knowl
edge which experienced seamen have at command, as it were by in
stinct, the engineering remedy, the fatal brake, would not have been
applied without making account of the nautical risk of such an act,
engendered by the rate of the ship's progress and the surging of the
sea. We learn by mistakes. My object is by no means to censure
the past, but to hint a remedy for the future.

" Have we not gained as well as lost by this check ? We have
demonstrated that the cable, so far as strength and capability of
being paid out is concerned, is well devised and well made. No
change for the present is desirable, although future cables may
doubtless be better constructed to accomplish better telegraphic
results by taking advantage of the discoveries and additions of
science.

" We have demonstrated that either of the two plans of splicing
in mid-ocean is practicable.

" We have demonstrated that the cable, once paid out from the
ship, is not recoverable with any certainty by the means at present
devised on board.

" We have demonstrated that the cable can be laid out.

" Now with regard to the future :

POSTPONEMENT NECESSARY. 663

" The advanced state of the season opposes an obstacle to any
further attempt at laying the cable this year.

" Before a supply of the quantity lost can be had and coiled on
board ship the season of rough weather sets in, adding untried diffi
culties to the undertaking. Hence a postponement till the mild
season of June or July of another year would seem desirable. There
may be inconveniences, but there are also advantages in the delay.
Not the least of the latter is the furnishing our worthy electrician,
Dr. Whitehouse, with his other scientific associates, an opportunity
to experiment during the winter with the entire cable, and to devise
means for more rapid transmission and in greater quantity in a given
time. Compelled as I am to return to my home, I can derive no
benefijb immediately in my own studies from this arrangement, but
it would be most gratifying to me if this accident, so called, should
prove in this way a means of benefiting the company to an amount
far exceeding the cost of the entire enterprise. That this, with
such opportunities, is likely to be the result of scientific investiga
tion, I have the strongest faith, and, should this happen as one of
the effects of what otherwise is a disappiontment and seems a frown,
we shall all derive a most salutary lesson to trust in him who dis
poses of all events for the greatest good, and with, whom — if we
were indeed sincere in our trust and in our submission to his will —
we professed to leave the disposal of our whole enterprise. With
sincere respect, your most obedient servant,

" SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" To GEORGE SAWARD, Esq., Secretary of the Atlantic Telegraph Company, etc.^

Professor Morse's letters to his family continue the history
of the enterprise, the discouragements, the heroic endeavors, the
perseverance, and hopes of its friends. In September he returned
to ~New York in the steamer Arabia. The London directors
ordered seven hundred miles of cable to be manufactured to sup
ply the place of what had been lost. Mr. Field returned to the
United States and secured the continued assistance of our Gov
ernment in the use of the ships to repeat the experiment. He
then went to London, and was made general manager of the
company. This office he accepted, but declined to receive any
salary or any extra compensation for his services. He engaged
the efficient services of Mr. "William E. Everett, the American
engineer of the steamship Magara. Mr. Everett constructed a

6G4

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

machine for paying out the cable, which promised to obviate all
the difficulties and the dangers attending the one in use the year
before. The American ship, the Susquehanna, being detained
in the "West Indies with the yellow fever on board, the British
Government supplied her place with the Yalorous, and the new
squadron sailed from Plymouth May 29, 1858, on the second
Atlantic-Telegraph expedition. After putting out to sea and
making a few experiments by way of testing the new machinery,
the squadron set off on its mission June 10, 1858, the Niagara
and the Agamemnon being followed by the Yalorous and the
Gorgon. Three days of fair weather were succeeded by a fear
ful storm. A series of gales scattered the little fleet. Some of
the vessels narrowly escaped destruction. On the 25th of June
they found each other again. The Agamemnon had suffered
severely, and so had the cable on board of her. After repairing
damages the vessels proceeded to mid-ocean. The Niagara and
the Agamemnon, having joined the cable, parted company, each
steaming away with its portion of the mighty coil, to its own
country. Fifty, one hundred, two hundred miles were paid out,
and, at the moment when all doubt of success had disappeared,
the cable gave way at the stern of the Agamemnon !

The fleet returned to Queenstown. But Mr. Field and his
associates would not abandon the attempt. Every failure was
met with fresh resolution. The world never saw sublimer hero
ism. July 17, 1858, the third expedition left the Cove of Cork,
with the agreement among the commanders of the several ves
sels to rendezvous in mid-ocean, which was reached by the last
of the vessels in eleven days. The splice was soon effected, and
again the two old friends, the Niagara and Agamemnon, bade
each other a brief "good-by" and started with their burdens
for their own lands. Signals were constantly passed between
the two ships. On the 4th day of August the Niagara safely
entered Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, with her precious freight,
and on the next day the cable was made fast to the American
shore. On the seme day the Agamemnon landed her end of the
cable at Yalentia, and the continents of Europe and America
were united !

The enthusiastic joy of the American people on this result
found expression in thanksgiving to him who rules the winds

THE CABLE FAILS. 665

and waves. Several days of great anxiety were passed while
preparations were made for the practical working of the cable,
and on the 16th day of August, 1858, a message from the Qeeen
of England was received, addressed to the President of the
United States. Celebrations followed. In the city of New
York the demonstration was on a scale of magnificence rarely
surpassed by festivities that have signalized the most important
events in its history. The successful efforts of Mr. Cyrus "W.
Field were acknowledged with every token of grateful recog
nition.

In the midst of these rejoicings the Atlantic cable suddenly
ceased to do its duty. It died and made no sign. Consterna
tion, then distrust, filled the public mind. Several private and
a few public messages had been received by it from Europe.
On the 27th day of August intelligence was receive^ of a British
treaty with China, allowing the Christian religion. But on the
1st day of September the cable ceased to speak. The cause of
this sad failure has been a mystery to the public. It was even
asserted that the cable was never operated at all, and many still
believe that no messages were received by it from the other side.
But the cable did work, although very imperfectly and irregularly,
twenty days. In that time 129 messages were received at 'New-

IS V

foundland from Yalentia, containing 1,474 words and 7,253 let
ters, and a still larger number 'were sent from this to the other
side and there received. The intended return of two regiments
of the British army from Canada was countermanded by a cable
message, saving to the Government the sum of £250,000. Mr.
George B. Prescott, the eminent American electrician, attributes
the failure to the imperfect mode in which the cable was manu
factured, and the improper manner in which it was cared for
afterward, the conducting wire being left so much exposed by
the melting and breaking of the gutta-percha that its insulation
was destroyed.

In January, 1864, Mr. Field was once more on his way to
England. In the mean time he had toiled with indefatigable
perseverance, to serve an enterprise which to all appearance was
as dead as the host of Pharaoh in the Eed Sea. When public
confidence began to revive, and it was believed that the British
Government would guarantee the interest on the stock of the

666

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Telegraph Company, if their cable should be laid successfully,
the Red-Sea-Telegraph cable, which had been laid by a company
having a government guarantee, died suddenly in its bed, as the
Atlantic cable had perished. But the British Government was
always disposed to promote the Atlantic Telegraph, and did
engage to pay eight per cent, on £600,000 of new capital, for
twenty-five years, if the cable were successfully laid, and made
to operate during that time. Mr. Field enlisted Mr. Thomas
Brassey in the great work, with Mr. John Fender, Mr. John
Chatterton, and others, and, by a union of the Gutta-Percha
Company with Glass, Elliot & Co., a new cable was made.
The Great Eastern, the largest steamship in the world, was pur
chased ; the cable was put on board, and the command was given
to Captain Anderson. On the 15th day of July, 1865, the
Great Eastern set off for Yalentia Bay ; there the cable was
secured to the shore, and on the 23d day of July she left for
the New World. The expedition had reached a point within six
hundred miles of Newfoundland, when the cable parted, and
twelve hundred miles of it were left in the bottom of the sea.
To recover it seemed the most hopeless of all human undertak
ings. The attempt was made ; three times it was caught and
raised toward the surface, but as often the ropes by which it was
drawn up failed to bear the strain, and the cable sank again into
its ocean-bed. The Great Eastern returned to England. A
new company was formed, called the Anglo-American Telegraph
Company. A new cable was made. The Great Eastern received
it, and on Friday, July 13, 1866, after solemn religous ser
vices in which the favor of God was heartily invoked, once
more it left Yalentia Bay for the Bay of Newfoundland.
The work proceeded daily without interruption by accident.
Messages from all parts of Europe and the East were daily
received on the Great Eastern. On Friday, July 27, 1866, the
cable was safely landed on the American shore. Again the
Eastern and "Western Hemispheres were united. The great
work was successfully accomplished. From that day to this the
Atlantic cable has done its duty.

CHAPTEE XIX.

1858-1859.

RETURN TO AMERICA — WINTER IN NEW YORK — BRIDAL PARTY AND FESTIVITIES
— INVITED TO PARIS — PREPARATIONS FOR THE JOURNEY — INSTRUCTION TO
FARMER AND COACHMAN — VOYAGE — REMARKABLE PREDICTION AND FUL
FILLMENT — PARIS — BANQUET — MEMORIAL TO FOREIGN POWERS — HON.
LEWIS CASS — HON. JOHN Y. MASON — THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT — CON
VENTION CALLED GOVERNMENTS REPRESENTED COUNT WALEWSKl's LET
TER TO PROFESSOR MORSE — PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONVENTION — AMOUNT
OF AWARD — PROPORTION OF THE SEVERAL GOVERNMENTS — SUMMARY OF
FOREIGN DISTINCTIONS — VISIT TO THE WEST INDIES — ERECTION OF A TELE
GRAPH — SOUTHERN ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH — CORRESPONDENCE — LETTER
FROM PROFESSOR STEINHEIL — MORSE'S REPLY — PROPOSAL TO RAISE A TES
TIMONIAL TO STEINHEIL — PROFESSOR MORSE'S RETURN — RECEPTION AT
POUGHKEEPSIE.

rjlHE official connection of Professor Morse with the Atlantic
J- cable enterprise was terminated when the new company
was organized in London, in 185T. He. was not elected an
honorary director. The reason assigned for his omission was
that he had taken no stock in the new company. As the com
pany wae not formed until after he had left England, and he had
no opportunity to subscribe, the reason was not satisfactory to
him. In the midst of rivalries and jealousies among companies,
capitalists, scientists, and others interested, it is possible that
his services in the board, and as electrician, were dispensed with
for some other reason than the one assigned. Whatever was
the real cause, the fact was personally mortifying to the great
inventor of the enterprise, if it were not also injurious to the
interests of the new company.

Arriving in New York early in October from England, he

ggg LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B, MOUSE.

passed a few weeks at his country-seat, and then removed to the
city, where he spent the winter. His correspondence occupied
all the time that he could save from public and social duties.
Among the many and curious applications made to him at this
moment was one from a French countess, who claimed that in
1832, a quarter of a century before, she had consigned a number
of prints to his care, with a request that he would place them in
the hands of some dealer in New York, to be sold for her bene
fit. He had forgotten to whom he confided them, and had no
means of knowing whether they had ever been sold or not. As
he was informed that the countess was in distress, he sent her
the full amount of her claim for the value of the prints, placing
the matter upon grounds of personal obligation, so that there
should be no hesitation on her part in receiving the money. He
says to the consul who had brought the subject to his notice :
"The letter of the countess which you have obligingly for
warded to me, informs me that she is in distress, having lost her
sister and her fortune. There are other obligations than those
of an equitable pecuniary character, which prompt me to view
her claim upon me as more than equitable. I have grateful
recollections of kindness shown to me by these amiable ladies
during the prevalence of the cholera scourge in Paris in 1832,
and I feel happy in having an opportunity of showing my sense
of that kindness."

The spring and early summer of 1858 at Locust Grove were
enlivened by a wedding-party from New Orleans ; Mrs. Morse's
brother-in-law, Mr. Goodrich, coming North with his bride.
Professor Wier, of West Point, who had won the honor, which
Professor Morse had so ardently desired, of painting the picture
for the Rotunda of the Capitol, was invited to his hou^e, with
Gouverneur Kemble, Esq., of Cold Spring, and others. The
mansion was a scene of prolonged festivity, and the most refined
and elegant hospitalities.

At this time, a 'congress of European Governments was dis
cussing at Paris the question of giving to this private citizen, on
the banks of the Hudson River, a pecuniary testimonial of the
distinguished benefits which those foreign peoples had received
from his invention of the Telegraph.

The Hon. J. Y. Mason, Minister of the United States to

PREPARATIONS FOR ABSENCE. 669

France, wrote to Professor Morse, advising him to come imme
diately to Paris. He says : " The prospects of success are
brighter than ever; come over as soon as you can." Yielding
to this suggestion, he made preparations for the journey, and for
a protracted absence, should he find it desirable to remain abroad.
If it has been supposed that his mind was absorbed in the Tele
graph to the exclusion of the petty details of ordinary life, the
idea will be dispelled by observing the minute instructions which
he left in writing for the management of his farm while he was
absent. He rented the mansion and immediate grounds to B.
Hinckley, Esq., and in a note to him says : " May I ask your
attention to the condition of my carriages, wagons, sleighs, etc.,
occasionally asking Thomas Bennett about them, simply to show
that he has one supervising him ? And so of the others." To
his hired men he gave written directions, going into the most
minute details of the farm and stock. A few extracts will illus
trate his prudent care :

" Instructions to Mr. X/ucJcey.

" In the conduct of the farm while I am gone, I wish the old bay
horse and old cream horse to be under your care and use for farm
ing purposes, and for Thomas the gardener's service for the garden
and grapery. I do not wish your son Frank to use or drive any of
my horses. The hay and grain I wish to have estimated, and an ac
curate account kept of their use, to be shown me when I return.
The hogs, after being slaughtered at the proper time, may be sold
for me. So also those cattle it may be advisable to fatten for sale.
Offer them to Messrs. Pine & Spencer, and, if they will give a fair
price, let them take them on account. I leave funds and directions
with Mr. Hinckley to pay you every month. In case of any emer
gency, ask advice of Mr. Hinckley, who is authorized by me to
direct respecting all matters about the place. The milk, cream,
and butter, dispose of for me to Mr. Hinckley's family, or others, if
he does not take all. Keep account also of these articles, and all
the produce of the farm. Store away potatoes enough to last me
from May until potatoes come in again. In winter see to having
the ice-house filled with good ice, with the assistance of Thomas
Bennett and Thomas Devoy. Cut down dead trees and remove
stumps. Put the embankment against the fence in good order.
Select out the larger stone from the wall that was taken away, such

67Q LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

as will do for building-stone, and draw them into the yard, piling
them up for future use. The smaller stone may remain and be
broken up for a foundation for a pathway on the road. Leave a
culvert through it and a drain (open), for the water to flow off on
the south side of the road down the north dell. You may get from
Collinwood the usual quantity of coal (four tons), and have it
charged to me. I have given orders to that effect, and for Thomas
Devoy also (two tons). When the time comes for paying tax, direct
the collector to call on Mr. Hinckley for mine, as he is authorized to
pay it for me. Thomas Bennett and Thomas Devoy will both be
paid by Mr. Hinckley, who has funds of mine for the purpose."

" Thomas Devoy.

" I wish you to take care of the garden and grapery, and lawns,
as usual ; and you may dispose of the produce of the garden to the
best advantage to Messrs. Carpenters & Brothers, Main Street, or
to Mr. Pine, or to others, if better terms can be had Send to my
son Charles, through Mr. Luckey, by the barge, corn, squashes, beets,
and early potatoes, and also a few grapes. I have requested Mr.
Luckey to allow you, as you can agree with each other, as to time,
the use of the old cream horse, and the old "bay horse, to draw muck
and bones, and manure for the garden and grapery. I wish that
there may be mutual helping of each other in this and other res
pects, and, in case of needing advice, advise with Mr. Hinckley,
who, while he rents my house, is chief supervisor of the place.
When melons, and corn, squashes, beets, and grapes, are ripe, make
up a liberal parcel in a large basket, and send same to the directress
of the ' Home of the Friendless.' And send also a basket of veg
etables and fruits occasionally to Rev. Mr. Ludlow, while he is in
Poughkeepsie. You may get from Mr. Haggerty three hundred
asparagus-plants of the best kind, say about a dollar per hundred,
and twelve hyacinth-flower bulbs, at not over twenty-five cents
apiece, and one hundred tulip-bulbs, at not over seventy-five cents
per hundred. Take good care of the tools, and every thing in your
department."

" Thomas Bennett.

I wish you to take charge of the span of horses while I am ab
sent, letting them rest, except such exercise as may be good for
them, taking off their shoes and letting them run when proper in
the field. Also take under your charge the pony in the same way ;

DEPARTURE FOR EUROPE. 671

and old bay (Tommy) keep for the use of Mr. Hinckley, who, if he
uses him, will be at the expense of his feed. Look after the car
riages, wagons, and sleighs ; see that they are housed in good or
der. Assist Mr. Luckey on the farm, and Thomas Devoy in the gar
den, as you and they can arrange to the best advantage. In case
of any difficulty, apply to Mr. Hinckley for advice, who has the
chief supervision of my place while he rents my house. I know
that you are an industrious man, and I have full confidence that
you will lend }Tour aid cheerfully in any labors on the farm and in
the garden, as well as about the horses and barns. Mr. Hinckley
has funds to pay you your monthly wages on the 1st of each month,
according to a schedule I have left with him."

July 24, 1858, Professor Morse, with Ms family and other
relatives, making a party of fifteen, sailed from New York, in
the steamer Fulton, for Havre. On the steamer with him was
one of his neighbors from Poughkeepsie, who has furnished a
remarkable incident illustrating the penetration and judgment
of the Professor. It will be remembered that the Atlantic cable
was landed on both shores of the ocean on the same day, Au
gust 5, 1858, and that after messages had passed through the
cable about twenty days, each way, it suddenly ceased to speak,
and has remained dumb to this day. On the day that messages
began to pass, the steamer Fulton, with Mr. Morse on board, was
approaching the coast of England. Jacob S. Jewett, Esq., in a
letter to the author of this memoir, dated March 18, 1874,
writes :

" I thought it might interest you to know when and how Pro
fessor Morse received the first tidings of the success of the Atlantic
cable. I accompanied him to Europe on the steamer Fulton, which
sailed from New York July 24, 1858. We were n earing Southamp
ton, when a sail-boat was noticed approaching, and soon our vessel
was boarded by a young man who sought an interview with Pro
fessor Morse, and announced to him that a message from America
had just been received, the first that had passed along the wire
lying upon the bed of the ocean. Professor Morse was, of course,
greatly delighted, but, turning to me, said, ' This is very gratifying,
but it is doubtful whether many more messages will be received?
and gave as his reason that ' the cable had been so long stored in
an improper place, that much of the coating had been destroyed,

G;0 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

and the cable was in other respects injured.' His prediction proved
to be true."

Probably Professor Morse was the only man living who enter
tained that opinion at that time. But with the evidence before
him that the cable had been successfully laid ; that a message,
fulfilling his early predictions, had been received ; with every
motive for wishing it to be permanently successful; and at
a crisis when he was hoping for a testimonial from the Euro
pean powers, which might be defeated by the failure of the
cable, he expressed his belief that the cable would not continue
to do its work, and that the first few messages would be the last,
Had he been in the Board of Direction, had his judgment and
experience as electrician been employed, that great calamity
which cost millions of money and eight years of delay in the
use of the Ocean Telegraph would, in all human probability,
have been averted.

Landing at Southampton, he went to the Continent. On his
arrival in Paris he was received with enthusiasm by his country
men residing there. They tendered him the honor of a banquet,
saying in their note that they desired to give him " some special
mark of their exalted appreciation of his personal character, and
the achievements of his genius." At this banquet Colonel John
S. Preston presided. The vice-president was the Hon. Hamilton
Fish, and the guests especially invited were Hon. J. Y. Mason,
Hon. J. K. Chandler, and Rev. B. H. Seeley, of the American
chapel. Senator Charles Sumner was in Paris, but, his physician
not allowing him to attend any public occasions of excitement,
he sent a letter to Professor Morse, in which he said : " Through
you, civilization has made one of her surest and grandest tri
umphs, beyond any ever won on any field of blood ; nor do I go
beyond the line of most cautious truth, when I add that, if man
kind had yet arrived at a just appreciation of its benefactors, it
would welcome such a conqueror with more than a marshal's 'ba
ton." The speeches that were made on this occasion by Mr. Fish,
Mr. Seeley, and others, have been referred to already in the testi
mony which they furnished as to the time when Professor Morse
first brought his Telegraph into actual operation. In his own
remarks Professor Morse took occasion to speak in warm terms

TESTIMONY TO STEINHEIL. G73

of commendation of other inventors, and especially of the mag
nanimous and amiable Bavarian philosopher, Steinheil. " He
alone," said Professor Morse, " of all the projectors, entertained
the thought in 1837 of a recording Telegraph. It is to the
magnanimity of Steinheil that I owe much of my European
fame."

THE EUROPEAN TESTIMONIAL.

In the year 1857, by the advice of friends holding high official
stations, Professor Morse had issued a memorial, setting forth
the grounds on which he based a claim to some indemnity from
the different governments of the European states within whose
territories his Telegraph was in use. General Cass, Secretary of
State, with great kindness, sent copies of the memorial to the
several diplomatic representatives of the United' States at the
courts in Europe, with a personal letter intimating to each of
the ministers that no objection is entertained to their forwarding
Mr. Morse's views by means of unofficial oral communications,
and other personal good offices with the authorities of the sev
eral governments. Hon. John Y. Mason, American Minister in
France, entered very heartily into the service, and in a letter to
Mr. Cass, dated August 22, 1857, recites the steps that were
taken to bring about a convention of the several powers to take
the subject into consideration, and secure substantial justice to
Professor Morse. Mr. Mason wrote :

"Mr. Morse submitted his claim to the French Government
through the Minister of the Interior. He presented a statement
of facts prepared by himself, which was so equitable that it was
hardly possible for the emperor's Government to deny relief. He
showed that he complied with the French law, paid the usual
charges and obtained a patent ; that this patent gave to him the
exclusive use of the invention in France ; that the Government had
forbidden his putting it in operation for reasons of state policy,
which destroyed his privilege; that the Government had subse
quently adopted the invention, to the exclusion of all other modes
of telegraphic communication, openly acknowledging it as the Morse
system, without arrangement with him or making compensation for
thus taking his acknowledged private property for public use. The
use of his system had promoted facility and accuracy in transmission
of telegraphic communications, and produced great economy. The
43

074 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Minister of the Interior, who has charge of the whole system of
telegraphing, of which the Government is a monopolist, after con
sidering his petition for many months, announced to Mr. Morse that
the French Government would confer with the different govern
ments of Europe, and unite in a compensation to him bearing some
proportion to the benefits conferred by the result of his genius.

" The minister suggested that this should be done at Paris. This
decision necessarily implied that Mr. Morse was to be rewarded ; that
the French Government would make compensation, and that other
governments ought to do the same. But it presented a serious
difficulty in this, that the ministers representing other governments
in Paris would not engage in the execution of the proposed plan
without instructions of their respective governments ; he could not
approach them, and I could not aid him in promoting such co
operation, and thus a modest and meritorious citizen, whose genius
had produced an invention, by general consent his property, which
reflected honor on him and on his country, was likely to lose an
acknowledged demand simply because the suggested plan for his
relief was impracticable to him. I am persuaded that the instruc
tions which you have given will rtelieve him of these difficulties,
thrown in his way by a suggestion generously and in good faith
made by the French minister. Believing that the reward is well
deserved, I shall be gratified to contribute to its accomplishment.
But I will take care to observe strictly the caution and keep within
the limits prescribed by your instruction."

More than a year elapsed, and Mr. Mason again wrote to Mr.
Cass, announcing the result.

Mr. Mason to Mr. Cass.

"LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, PARIS, September 9, 1858.
" Hon. Lewis Cass, Secretary of State :

" SIR : After receiving your dispatch No. 122, which you ad
dressed to me under date of July 31, 1857, I availed myself of the
first opportunity, in conversation with the Minister of Foreign Af
fairs, to inform him of my precise position in reference to the affair
of Professor S. F. B. Morse, in which I was assured that the Impe
rial Government had generously manifested an interest. His excel
lency appreciated the reasons which had influenced my Government
in its instructions to the ministers of the United States in Europe.
I have, in the progress of the affair, more than once conversed

THE FKENCH GOVERNMENT. 675

with Count Walewski, in regard to it, but always at his own in
stance, and have been happy to find that ten of the European gov
ernments have, without solicitation, united in an act not more hon
orable to Professor Morse than to themselves. Professor Morse is
at present in Switzerland. A few days since the chef du cabinet
of Count Walewski called at my house, and informed me that the
final sitting of the ministers had taken place, and his excellency de
sired to know if it would be agreeable to me to receive and com
municate to Mr. Morse a letter and a proofs-verbal of the pro
ceedings of the conference. I replied that it always gave me pleas
ure to comply with his excellency's wishes, and never more so than
when made the organ of a communication showing that the Impe
rial Government has generously and earnestly interested itself in
doing honor to a distinguished and esteemed fellow-citizen. I have
since received from Count Walewski a letter, of which I send you
a copy. I have placed the letter addressed to him and the proces-
verbal intended for him in the hands of Professor Morse's agent
here, and the professor will, I presume, acknowledge their receipt
directly to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. If he desires me to do
so, I will transmit his reply. I am gratified at the result of an
affair which seemed, and would have been, hopeless, but for the
action and generous support voluntarily given to Mr. Morse by the
Imperial Government.

" I have the honor to be your obedient servant,

«J. Y. MASON."

The letter of Count Walewski to Professor Morse, and the
proceedings of the convention, form the most brilliant chapter
in the life of a private individual.

Letter of Count Walewski to Professor Morse.

"MINISTRY OP FOREIGN AFFAIRS, PARIS, September 1, 1858.
" SIR : It is with a lively satisfaction that I have the honor to
announce to you that a sum of four hundred thousand francs will be
remitted to you, in four annuities, in the name of France, of Aus
tria, of Belgium, of the Netherlands, of Piedmont, of Russia, of the
Holy See, of Sweden, of Tuscany, and of Turkey, as an honorary
gratuity, and as a reward, altogether personal, of your useful labors.
Nothing can better mark, than this collective act of reward, the
sentiment of public gratitude which your invention has so justly
excited.

676 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

"The emperor has already given you a testimonial of his high
esteem when he conferred upon you, more than a year ago, the
decoration of a Chevalier of his order of the Legion of Honor.
You will find a new mark of it in the initiative which his Majesty
wished that his Government should take in this conjuncture ; and
the decision that I charge myself to bring to your knowledge is a
brilliant proof of the eager and sympathetic adhesion that his prop
osition has met with from the states I have just enumerated.

" I pray you to accept on this occasion, sir, my personal congrat
ulations, as well as the assurance of my sentiments of the most
distinguished consideration. A. WALEWSKI.

"Monsieur MORSE."

[TRANSLATION.]

"Report of proceedings at the meeting of the representatives
of Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Piedmont, Russia, the
Holy See, Sweden, Tuscany, and Turkey, held for the purpose of
considering the proposition made in behalf of Dr. Morse.

"Sitting of April 27, 1858.

"Present — For Austria, Baron HUBNER; for Belgium, Mr. FIR-
MIN ROGIER ; for France, Count WALEWSKI ; for the Netherlands,
i/Lr. LIGHTENVELT ; for Piedmont, Count VILLAMARLNA ; for Russia,
Count KISSELEFF ; for the Holy See, his Grace Mr. SACCONI ; for
Sweden, Count DE PIPER ; for Tuscany, Marquis TANAY DE NERLI ;
for Turkey, HAIDAR EFFENDI.

u Count Walewski stated, in the first place, the reasons which
had induced the emperor's Government to support, along with other
governments, the claim advanced by Mr. Morse, with the view of
procuring a pecuniary remuneration to be made to him for the ser
vices which the process of his electro-magnetic telegraph has already
. rendered in the greater part of the European states. The discov
ery of the principles upon which the process that has received the
name of Mr. Morse rests, unquestionably, said Count Walewski,
does not belong to him ; but he was the first to contrive to carry
this discovery out of the - speculative dominion of reason into that
of material application. It is owing to labors and studies, the honor
of which belongs indisputably to him, that electric communication,
which, previous to him, was only, so to speak, a simple affirmation
of science, has become a reality, and one of the most useful acqui
sitions that our epoch has made, and that must bind it to the future.

T&E CONGRESS OF EUROPEAN POWERS. 677

Results have already spoken sufficiently loud, and the admiration
which they have excited has been too universal for it to be neces
sary to insist on the importance of the service that Mr. Morse has
rendered to everybody, private persons and governments. But the
more manifest this service is, the more equitable does it seem that
it should not be left without a recompense proportionate to its mag
nitude. Now, if Mr. Morse has seen the Supreme Court of the
United States establish, by a patent, his right to the invention of
the process which has taken his name, and if he has been able, con
sequently, to derive some profit from its application in that country,
it has not been the same with that which has been made of it in
Europe. Nearly all the governments here having reserved to them
selves the exclusive use of the Telegraph, or the faculty of alone
conceding its employment to private persons or to companies, the
knowledge which they have had of Mr. Morse's process could not
obtain for him the material advantages which would not have failed
to follow, had an invention of a different character been in question.
The honorary distinctions which several of the sovereigns have
deigned to confer on him have, beyond any doubt, been to him val
uable marks of a lofty esteem ; but they have been insufficient to
supply the place of the pecuniary compensations which his sacrifices
and his labors seenied destined to assure to him, and which are so
much the more justly called for, since electro-magnetic telegraph
ing, independently of the immense services which it renders by the
rapidity of transmitting news and correspondence, also obtains, by
its operation under the governments having the monopoly of it,
profits in money, already considerable, and which must continue to
increase. It is, therefore, under a conviction that there is justice as
well as generosity in acceding to the claim of Mr. Morse, whom
the infirmities of age have now reached, after he has entirely de
voted his small fortune to experiments and voyages necessary to
arrive at the discovery and application of his process, that the em
peror's Government has solicited various states, to whose gratitude
Mr. Morse has acquired rights, to join in the remuneration which is
due to him. The answer to this appeal must permit a hope that an
agreement will easily be established, in regard to the collection
itself which it will be expedient to adopt.

"After unfolding these considerations, Count Walewski indi
cated the two questions which, when the principle of indemnity is
once admitted, must invite the attention of the meeting :

" 1. What ought to be the amount of the indemnity, arid in

678

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOKSE.

what manner should the payment be made? Shall it be in the
shape of a pension for life, or in that of a sum paid at once ?

" 2. What is the most equitable mode of apportionment to be
established among the various governments which will contribute
to the payment of the indemnity ?

" The meeting, having heard this statement, entered into discus
sion, under a reservation that the determinations should only be
accepted ad referendum by each of its members.

" Count Walewski proposed that, for indemnity, there be allowed
to Mr. Morse either a pension for life of sixty to seventy thousand
francs, or a single sum of four hundred thousand francs, payable in
four annuities.

" Baron Hubner declared himself in favor of the latter mode of
allowance, in preference to the establishment of a pension for life.
This opinion met with general assent.

" In regard to the amount of the indemnity, his Grace Mr. Sac-
coni observed that, from the moment in which various governments
united for the purpose of recompensing a discovery, it was necessary
that a suitable sum should evince this union of several states in a
measure of remuneration.

"The meeting having consulted in regard to the sum of four
hundred thousand francs proposed, in case the system of a sum to
be given at once should be chosen, no objection was offered to this
assessment.

" In regard to the question of apportionment, two systems were
proposed : to fix the apportionment by the number of apparatuses
employed in each country, or to determine it according to the pop
ulation and extent of each state.

" Count de Kisseleff, after remarking that, in the view of his
government, the Morse process is an improvement of electric tele
graphing, and not the invention itself, declared that it was, however,
disposed, in consideration of the practical utility of this process,
and of the personal use which was made of it, to concur in a rea
sonable and collective remuneration of it, apportioning the remu
neration in each country by the number of apparatuses which are
m use therein. There was, in fact, in each state employing the
Morse process, a question of revenue ; but the greater the number
of apparatuses in use, the more considerable the revenue must be.

' Baron Hubner earnestly concurred in the opinion expressed by
jount Kisseleff. The number of apparatuses was, in his judgment,
'6 most practical basis to adopt for an apportionment, for it cor-

DISCUSSIONS IN CONGRESS. 679

responded exactly with the expenses and profits of which the
electro-magnetic Telegraph was the source for every government.
There was, in the establishment of the Morse process, an amount
of capital invested, of which the number of machines in use must
represent the interest. It was on that number, therefore, that it
was just to rely in the apportionment.

"The Marquis of Villamarina thought that his government
would also prefer, in the assessment of its share in a collective
remuneration, a proportion based on the number of apparatuses, as
being more in accordance with the advantages obtained by employ
ing the process in question.

" Count Walewski was of the same opinion, and again adduced,
in its favor, the consideration that the Morse process has, besides the
increase of celerity in the transmission of dispatches which is due to
it, produced, by being substituted for previous systems of telegraph
ing, remarkable savings to all the governments, and that the num
ber of apparatuses gives the measure of the savings realized by each
government ; and this furnishes the surest means of proving what
proportionate part it ought to bear in a collective remuneration.

" His Grace Mr. Sacconi did not think that this mode of valua
tion would answer the purpose intended. He rather inclined to the
other system. He feared that the number of apparatuses would not
furnish a basis of apportionment as equitable as had been said,
inasmuch as a state of less importance, relatively, might find that it
was its lot to pay more than a more considerable state, because it
had more apparatuses than the latter.

" Mr. Firmin Rogier likewise thought that the number of appa
ratuses was not the most just basis to adopt. He preferred that
account should be taken of the distance to be run by the telegraphic
lines, or of the amount of the population, and of the extent of the
territory. There would then be no liability of a state with a smaller
number of inhabitants paying more than a state which was mani
festly more populous.

" The Marquis de Nerli was also of opinion that the share of
each, in the indemnity to be allowed, should be proportionate to the
extent of territory, and to the number of the population. What
seemed to him most satisfactory would be an apportionment which
should take into account the number only of those who availed
themselves of telegraphing — the very considerable agricultural pop
ulation of Tuscany making no use of it.

" Mr. Lightenvelt limited himself to stating that the concurrence

680

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

of his government was obtained in the measure of remuneration
solicited by Mr. Morse, provided that the various governments which
profited by the discovery of his process contributed simultaneously
to recompense it.

" Hai'dar Effendi and Count de Piper were in like manner satis
fied by declaring that their governments would accede to any equi
table proposition of remuneration. Their personal opinion as to
the mode of apportionment was, however, in favor of the number
of apparatuses.

" His Grace Mr. Sacconi and Mr. Firmin Kogier, in the course of
the discussion, again advanced the idea of adopting a middle term
between the sum resulting from the number of apparatuses and that
afforded by the population and extent of territory.

" Baron Hubner proposed to take into consideration the opinion
of the majority, by rallying in favor of the mode of apportionment
by the number of apparatuses, except that each one should consult
his government on this subject, and bring forward subsequently the
observations thereon, when he shall have gathered the information
which this mode of assessment requires.

" This opinion was unanimously adopted, and it was decided, con
sequently, that the members of the meeting should transmit ad
referendum to their respective governments the proposition for an
indemnity of four hundred thousand francs, payable in four annui
ties, the apportionment of which* to each state should be made in the
ratio of the number of apparatuses. It was, moreover, understood
that, if on account of new applications of his process Mr. Morse
should hereafter think proper to make other claims, he would have to
make them himself of the governments or companies from which he
should claim compensation.

" After these resolutions, the meeting adjourned until the time
when the members should have received an answer from their
governments.

"The present report of proceedings having been read at the
second sitting of the meeting, on the 23d of August, 1858, it was
signed — OTTENFELS, Austria ; Baron DE BEYENS, Belgium ;
Count WALEWSKI, France; LIGHTENYELT, Netherlands; Marquis
DE VILLAMARINA, Sardinia; BALABINE, Russia; Archbishop of
Nice, Holy See; E. DE PIPER, Sweden; Marquis TANAY DE
NEELI, Tuscany ; HAIDAR EFFENDI, Turkey.

" Count Walewski, after the proceedings of the first sitting had

THE DISCUSSION CONTINUED. 681

been read, consulted the various members of the meeting in regard
to the answers which they had received from their governments on
the matters contained in the resolutions previously adopted ad
referendum. The members of the meeting, with the exception of
the Minister of the Netherlands, stated that their governments con
curred in the mode of the proposed apportionment, and in the sum
of four hundred thousand francs.

" Mr. de Balabine observed that, only having positive instruc
tions to concur in the mode of apportionment, he awaited, so far as
concerned the amount of the indemnity, the opinion of his govern
ment.

" The Minister of the Netherlands regretted that he was unable,
in his answer, to unite entirely in the statements of the other
members of the meeting. His government, while accepting the
proposed basis of apportionment, considered the amount of the remu
neration as too high.1 It feared that it might call forth, on the part
of its people, similar claims for inventions of a different character.

" Count Walewski, on declaring that, with the exception of the
Minister of the Netherlands, all the members of the meeting agreed
on the same mode of apportionment, and, no objection being made
to the sum brought forward, proposed to order an apportionment
based on the figures which, after an exchange of their respective
reports of investigation, should indicate the exact number of
apparatuses in use in each country. The comparative estimate
which results therefrom is contained in the table herewith annexed.
It was understood that, if the Government of the Netherlands should
still think of reducing the amount of the sum placed to its account
in the common apportionment, the apportionment should not be
affected thereby, but that it would only result in a reduction of the
allowance made to Mr. Morse.

" Count Walewski called to mind that Mr. Morse could, moreover,
make direct application to the governments which have not joined
in the generous measure adopted by the present meeting.

" On motion of his Grace the Nuncio of the Holy See, it was
agreed that the time for the payments should be fisTed, and it was
arranged that they should be made in four annuities commencing on
the 1st of January, merely in order to leave to the various govern
ments the care of regulating this expenditure according to the con
stitutional requirements to which they have to pay attention.

1 Subsequently the Minister of the Netherlands acceded to the arrangement, and
the vote was unanimous.

682

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" It was, moreover, agreed that the payment of each state should
be made at said periods, to the Department of Foreign Affairs, at
Paris, which would be charged with the duty of delivering to Mr.
Morse, in the name of all the governments, the actual amount of
the annuity falling due.

"Done at Paris, on the 23d of August, 1858."

The signatures follow.

Table of the Proportionate Distribution.

The total number of apparatuses being twelve hundred and
eighty-four, if the indemnity of four hundred thousand francs to be
allowed be divided by this number, the sum which each government
has to contribute is three hundred and eleven francs fifty-five cen
times for each apparatus, which gives the following proportions :

COUNTRIES.

Number of
Appara
tuses.

Amount to be paid
in Four Annuities.

Austria ..

224

$69,787 20

52

16,200 60

France

462

143,936 10

72

22,431 60

Piedmont .... ... ....

73

22,743 15

Russia.

110

34 270 50

Holy See

17

5 296 35

191

59,506 05

Tuscany .

14

4 361 70

Turkey. .

69

21,496 95

1,284

$400,030 20

This result was communicated to Mr. Morse by Mr. Mason,
and the gratified recipient immediately addressed the following
letter to the French Minister :

Professor Morse to Count WalewsM.

"PARIS, GRAND HOTEL DU LOUVRE, September 15, 1858.
" MONSIEUR LE MINISTEE : On my return to Paris from Switz
erland, I have this day received from the Minister of the United
States the most gratifying information which your Excellency did
me the honor to send to me through him, respecting the decision
of the congress of the distinguished diplomatic representatives of
ten of the august Governments of Europe, held in special reference
to myself.

"You have had the considerate kindness to communicate to me

MR. MORSE'S GRATITUDE. 683

a proceeding which reflects the highest honor upon the Imperial
Government and its noble associates, and I am at a loss for lan
guage adequately to express to them my feelings of profound grat
itude.

" But especially, your Excellency, do I want words to express
toward the august head of the Imperial Government and to your
Excellency the thankful sentiments of my heart for the part so
prominently taken by his Imperial Majesty, and by your Excellency,
in so generously initiating this measure for my honor in inviting
the governments of Europe to a conference on the subject, and for
so zealously and warmly advocating and perseveringly conducting
to a successful termination the measure in which the Imperial Gov
ernment so magnanimously took the initiative.

" I accept the gratuity thus tendered on the basis of an honorary
testimonial, and a personal reward, with tenfold more gratification
than could have been produced by a sum of money, however large,
offered on the basis of a commercial negotiation.

" I beg your Excellency to receive my thanks, however inade
quately expressed, and to believe that I appreciate your Excellency's
kind and generous services, performed in the midst of your high
official duties, consummating a proceeding so unique, and in a man
ner so graceful, that personal kindness has been beautifully blended
with official dignity.

" I will address respectively to the honorable ministers who were
your Excellency's colleagues a letter of thanks for their participa
tion in this act of high honor to me.

" I beg your Excellency to accept the assurances of my lasting
gratitude, and highest consideration, in subscribing myself
" Your Excellency's most obedient, humble servant,

" SAMUEL F. B. MORSE."

"We may fittingly close this portion of the history with a list
of the nations which acknowledged the Telegraph as the inven
tion of Professor Morse, and the mode of acknowledgment :

France. — The Emperor Napoleon III. convened in Paris in
1858 a special congress, inviting the different nations to concur in
a united testimonial to the inventor, at the same time conferring
upon him the decoration of the Legion of Honor. The result of the
congressional deliberations was an honorary gratuity, from ten of
the principal powers, of four hundred thousand francs.

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOKSE.

*.— The King of Prussia sent him the "Scientific Gold
Medal " of Prussia, set in the lid of a gold snuff-box.

Austria.— A contributor to the "honorary gratuity," and, from
the Emperor, the " Scientific Gold Medal " of Austria.
Russia,— A contributor to the " honorary gratuity."
/Spain.— The Queen of Spain conferred upon him the Cross of
" Knight Commander de Numero," of the Order of Isabella the

Catholic.

Portugal.— The King of Portugal conferred upon him the Cross
of a " Knight of the Tower and Sword."

Italy.— A contributor to the "honorary gratuity," and the
King of Italy conferred upon him the Cross of a " Knight of Saints
Lazaro and Mauritio."

Holy See. — A contributor to the " honorary gratuity."
Belgium— K contributor to the " honorary gratuity."
Holland.— A contributor to the " honorary gratuity."
Denmark. — The King Frederick VII. conferred upon him the
Cross of " Knight of the Dannebrog."

Sweden. — A contributor to the " honorary gratuity."
Turkey. — A contributor to the "honorary gratuity," and the
late Sultan conferred upon him the decoration in diamonds of the
" Nishan Iftichar," or Order of Glory.

Great Britain. — Nationally, nothing. The telegraph compa
nies in 1856 gave him a grand banquet in London, presided over
by the inventor of the English semaphore, the distinguished Wil
liam Fothergill Cooke.

Switzerland. — Nationally, nothing.
Saxony. — Nothing.

The Great Convention in Paris in March and April, 1865, con
vened to arrange telegraphic correspondence between the European
nations, was formed from representative delegates from Austria,
Baden, Bavaria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, France, Greece, Ham
burg, Hanover, Italy, Holland, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Saxony,
Sweden and Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, and Wlirtemberg. Ar
ticle third of this convention is in these words : The Morse appa
ratus is provisionally adopted for the use of all the international
lines !

Having received the first installment of the indemnity
awarded him by the congress of European powers, and surfeited
with honors and attentions, Professor Morse left Europe. By

. MR. MORSE IN THE WEST INDIES. 685

steamer from Southampton, November 17, 1858, he went with
his family to Arroyo, Porto Rico, in the "West Indies, where
his daughter, Mrs. Lind, had been residing for several years.
In a letter to Mrs. Morse's mother, he gives a picture of the
new scenes to which he was now introduced for the first time :

"In St. Thomas we received every possible attention. The
Governor called on us and passed an evening, and invited Edward
and myself to breakfast (at 10£ o'clock) the day we left. He lives
in a fine mansion on one of the lesser hills that inclose the 'harbor,
having directly beneath him on the slope, and only separated by a
wall, the residence of Santa Anna. He was invited to be present,
but he \ms ill (so he said), and excused himself. I presume his
illness was occasioned by the thought of meeting an American from
the States, for he holds the citizens of the States in perfect hatred,
so much so as to refuse to receive United States money in change
from his servants on their return from market.

" A few days in change of latitude make wonderful changes in
feelings and clothing. When we left England the air was wintry,
and thick woolen clothing and fires were necessary. The first night
at. sea blankets were in great demand. With two extra, and my
great-coat over all, I was comfortably warm. In twenty-four hours,
the great-coat was dispensed with, then one blanket, then another,
until a sheet alone began to be enough ; and, the two or three
last nights on board, this slight covering was too much. When we
got into the harbor of St. Thomas, the temperature was oppressive.
Our slightest summer clothing was in demand. Surrounded by
pomegranate-trees, magnificent oleanders, cocoa-nut trees, with their
large fruit some thirty feet from the ground, the aloe, and innumer
able, and to me strange, tropical plants, I could scarcely believe it
was December. I felt at first somewhat debilitated from the heat,
for St. -Thomas harbor is surounded by conical hills, facing the
south, and the sun has full play upon the city, which is built on the
slopes of three hills, the houses rising from the shore and occupying
about one-quarter of the height.

" We arrived on Thursday morning and remained until Monday
evening. Edward " (his son-in-law) " having engaged a Long-Island
schooner, which happened to be in port to take us to Arroyo, at
four o'clock the Governor sent his official barge, under the charge
of the captain of the port, a most excellent, intelligent, scientific
gentleman, who had breakfasted with us at the Governor's in the

686

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

morning, and .in a few minutes we were rowed alongside of the
schooner Estelle, and before dark were under way and out of the
harbor. Our quarters were very small and close, but not so uncom
fortable. At daylight in the morning of Tuesday, we were sailing
along the shores of Porto Rico, and at sunrise we found we were in
sight of Guayama and Arroyo, and with our glasses we saw at a
distance the buildings on Edward's estate. Susan "(his daughter)
" had been advised of our coming, and a flag was flying on the house
in answer to the signal we made from the vessel. In two or three
hours we got to the shore, as near as was safe for the vessel, and
then, in the doctor's boat, which had paid us an official visit to see
that we did not bring yellow fever or other infectious disease, the
kind doctor, an Irishman, educated in America, took us ashore at a
little temporary landing-place, to avoid the surf. On the shore
there were some handkerchiefs shaking, and in a crowd we saw
Susan, and Leila, and Charlie, who were waiting for us in carriages,
and in a few moments we embraced them all. The sun was hot
upon us, but, after a ride of two or three miles, we came to the
4 Henrietta,' my dear Edward and Susan's residence, and were soon
under the roof of a spacious, elegant, and most commodious man
sion. And here we are with midsummer temperature and vegeta
tion, but a tropical vegetation, all around us. Well, we always
knew that Edward was a prince of a man, but we did not know, or
rather appreciate, that he has a princely estate, and in as fine order
as any in the island. When I say ' fine order,' I do not mean that
it is laid out like the Bois de Boulogne, nor is there quite so much
picturesqueness in a level plain of sugar-canes as in the trees and
shrubbery of the gardens of Versailles, but it is a rich and well-cul
tivated estate of some fourteen hundred acres, gradually rising for
two or three miles from the sea-shore to the mountains, including
some of them, and stretching into the valleys between them."

While here in the West Indies, Professor Morse received a
letter of great value and interest to himself from the distin
guished Professor Steinheil. It has the same significance with
the letter of Dr. Page,1 as a disclaimer of any part of the inven
tion peculiar to the Morse instrument. Writing to Mr. Ken
dall, December 22, 1858, Professor Morse said :

" I have received from Professor Steinheil the letter of which
1 See page 559, ante.

DR. STEINHEIL TO MORSE. 687

the following is a translation, and I send it to you, that, if possible,
in this day of rewards, the delicate and righteous hint contained in
the latter part may lead to some grateful acknowledgment on the
part of those who are profiting by his discovery. Every line in the
United States is saved by it one-half the expense of the conductors
upon their poles. He has no patent that enables him to demand
compensation, but his claims are no less just on that account ; they
appeal rather with more force to men whose sense of right is
not confined to the letter of a statute, and who have any feeling of
magnanimity. I know of no public attention which could be shown
to me either by the telegraph companies of the United States, or by
the American public generally, so personally gratifying to me as
the setting on foot an appropriate testimonial for Professor Stein-
heil's labors in the cause of telegraphy. But to the letter :

" 'MUNICH, October 30, 1858.

" ' DEAR SIR : Accept, first of all, my sincere and cordial con
gratulations on the beautiful results which have followed the ac
knowledgment of your invention, and which bears your name, and-
which has at last extended the only important system of telegraph
ing (as I believe) over the whole world.

" ' When you, at the moment of receiving the well-merited reward
of much pains, called to the minds of your countrymen in so friendly
a manner my services for the Telegraph, as your speech announces
(which was yesterday sent to me by M. Violliet, American consul
in Geneva), I regard it as the finest testimony your heart could
give, and it is new proof that united powers can effect more than
when from selfish considerations they act separately. What we
both have done for telegraphy stands side by side. The contribu
tions of the one do not encroach on the contributions of the other
— do not make the other superfluous. You have contributed the
quickest, simplest, arid most beautiful mode of communication. I
have reduced to one-half the conducting wire, and also made it
surer and cheaper. Now it will be a satisfaction to me if this my
contribution toward solving the great problem should be rewarded
by my friends in Europe. But I cannot suppress the wish that as
I contributed to procure the acknowledgment of your invention in
Europe, so you may be inclined to procure my portion of reward in
America. It would certainly be a noble example, seldom seen in
the world's history, the example of two men who had spent a great
part of their lifetime in solving the same problem, appearing, not

6gs LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

as rivals, but as friends, each striving that the services of the one
should be rewarded in the land of the other.

" « With the expression of the sincerest respect and esteem,

" ' Dr. C. A. STEINHEIL,
t( l Ministerial Councilor and Academician.
" ' To Professor S. F. B. MORSE.'

" The above noble letter from one of Nature's noblemen has ex
cited the strongest desires that some testimonial from our country,
appropriate and delicate, should be sent to Professor Steinheil.
Many modes have occurred to me, but I wish your judgment, well
knowing that in my desires in this respect your feelings are in uni-
' son with my own. I now merely throw out hints. Steinheil's dis
covery of the earth's circuit, which, as I have said, and he has
also said, has reduced the expense of the conductor one-half, is in
use by every telegraph-line in the country as well as in Europe.
No patent secures to him his just and natural right to compensa
tion. In this he stands in the same position that I do before the
European Governments. See what Europe has done for me ! I
personally cannot adequately return the honor upon Steinheil, but
would it not be a beautiful reciprocation if an American testimonial,
proposed by me, if you please, to take from it any appearance of
antagonism, should be made by the American public, but especially
by the telegraph companies of the United States, for all the lines,
legitimate or illegitimate, are using his discovery, and are therefore
under obligations in equity to Steinheil ? Whatever plan shall be
proposed, I wish to contribute to it, and will most cheerfully do so.
Another plan would be the adoption by the telegraph companies
of a mode of compensation which I have often thought would be
a feasible one for remunerating an inventor, such as Fulton, for
example. Suppose, in the case of Fulton's heirs, it is desired to give
them the benefit of the compensation of which he has been de
prived; let one cent be added to the fare of every passenger in
every steamboat, for a limited number of years, to constitute the
inventor's fund, and to be paid over annually or semi-annually for
the benefit of his heirs. This is a simple plan, easily adopted, and
look at the results ! First, it is a tax so light, that no individual,
iwever poor, would feel it burdensome; it is levied exactly upon

e who are receiving the benefit of the inventor's labors ; it does
urden the companies, for it is additional to their tariff rates,

by every man who has the least gratitude in his composition

MR. MORSE TO STEINHEIL.

would be given, not grudgingly, but with a hearty good-will ; and
what would be the aggregate? Sufficient amply" for all purposes
of compensation to those who have an equitable claim to public
gratitude, and produced in the most equitable way, burdensome to
none: Now, to apply the plan for the creation of a Steinheil fund :
Let it be ordained by every telegraph company that, for a certain
number of years, one cent additional upon every message shall be
levied, and the thing is done. Please think of this."

On the same day when he addressed this letter to Mr. Ken
dall, Professor Morse wrote to Dr. Steinheil these words :

"ARROYO, PORTO Rico, WEST INDIES, December 22, 1858.

" MY DEAR PROFESSOR STEINHEIL : Your letter of the 30th of
October I have this moment received at this place, it having been
forwarded to me from New York by my brother.

" I am passing the winter in these tropical regions, at the resi
dence of my son-in-law, Edward Lind, Esq., a planter of this island,
and my address until March 1, 1859, will be to his care.

" Your courteous acknowledgment of my poor attempt to do
you justice at the honorary dinner given me in Paris, is exceedingly
grateful. I had long wished for the opportunity thus publicly to
acknowledge your great kindness. I intended to do it in London,
in 1856, when the telegraph companies gave me a public reception,
but I was there fettered by the apprehension that I might be tread
ing upon delicate ground, in the country of Wheatstone. In Paris,
before my own countrymen, I had no such fear, and therefore
carried out my long-cherished wish toward you.

" The suggestion you make in regard to some acknowledgment
from America, for your important discovery in telegraphy, is not
new to me, but the means of bringing any feasible plan to a result
are environed with some peculiar difficulties, which I will briefly
state.

" Such a testimonial as has been conceded to me by the con
gress of powers convened in Paris, could not be enacted in the
United States, principally on this ground : Telegraphs on the Con
tinent of Europe are a government monopoly, and are therefore
wholly under the control of the governments of the several states ;
hence the propriety of government action in awarding me the
recent testimonials. On the contrary, telegraphs in the United
States, as well as in Great Britain, are managed and are under the
control of joint-stock companies, who regulate their doings at
44

69Q LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

pleasure, independent of the government, except in some very
general particulars.

" The government itself is subject to the tariff rates and regula
tions of the companies. Hence, you will see, the British and United
States Governments are not the parties against whom any equrtable
claims can be set up by the inventor of a telegraph,

" The patent granted by these governments assumes to protect
the right of the inventor to compensation, and leaves him to make
such terms for his own compensation with joint-stock companies
as he and they can agree upon.

" The absence of a patent on your part for your valuable dis
covery, which you so generously threw open to the world, deprives
you, therefore, of all legal right to claim compensation for it, but it
by no means lessens your equitable right to it, from those who are
benefited by its use; on the contrary, in my view, it enhances it,
while at the same time the difficulties in realizing a just compen
sation are increased tenfold.

" For it must be through appeals to a sense of justice lying back
of legal enactment, and which, to the shame of human nature, is
dormant, if not dead, in the hearts of those who look at an enter
prise only in the light of a lucrative investment. Yet I am proud
to believe that there is a great majority of those capitalists in the
United States who have invested their funds in the Telegraph en
terprise, whose hearts will respond promptly to an appeal to their
magnanimity, if a judicious plan be presented to them, especially
with such a noble example as Europe has set, in respect to me.

" At any rate, my dear Dr. Steinheil, your hint shall be fruit
ful, if any efforts of mine can make it so. I have already indited a
letter to my friends in the United States, on the subject. I have
suggested several modes of attaining a favorable result, and I can
not but hope something may be done. I would not wish to raise
expectations which may be disappointed, but I will say to you that
what I have thus initiated I will not allow to rest.

'Some months must elapse before I return to my home at
Poughkeepsie, New York. In the mean time I have set my friends
in the United States to thinking upon the subject, and on my return
I may find them prepared for some decisive action, which I may aid
in consummating, and of which you shall be duly advised. In the
mean time, my dear sir, accept the assurance of my cordial esteem
and friendship, SAMUEL F. B. MOKSE.

" Dr. C. A. STEINHEIL, Councilor and Academician, Munich, Bavaria."

MR. MORSE TO MR. MASON. 691

Professor Morse was intensely gratified also, while in the
West Indies, by receiving notice of his election as a member of
the Eoyal Academy of Sciences of Stockholm, Sweden. The
secretary, in sending the diploma, said, " The Academy is happy,
sir, to offer you this testimony of the lively interest with which
your scientific merits have inspired it, and it hopes you will
unite your efforts to those which it has itself made for the
advance of the sciences." This was the more acceptable to the
Professor, at this moment, because it was at the time when
persistent efforts were made in his own country to depreciate his
merits as a man of science, and the value of his contributions.
A few days afterward came to him the intelligence that the
Queen of Spain had conferred upon him the honor of Knight
Commander of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic.

In a letter to the Hon. J. Y. Mason, United States Minister
in France, Professor Morse describes his progress in telegraphic
enterprise, while on his visit of pleasure in the West-India
islands :

" I have just had the pleasure of completing the first line oi
Telegraph in this beautiful island, from my son-in-law's house to
his place of business, on the bay, about two miles. It excites
much interest, and I have been requested to partake of an honorary
breakfast by the intendente and the military commandant and offi
cials of Guayama and Arroyo to-morrow. This too initiates the grand
enterprise of uniting our American Telegraph lines with Europe by a
southern route, from Cape St. Vincent, through Madeira, the Cana
ries, Cape de Verde, and Cape St. Roque in Brazil, thence along
the coast, and connecting Barbadoes, Martinique, St. Thomas, Porto
Rico, Jamaica, Cuba, and Florida. My friends Sir James Carmi-
chael, Mr. Brett, and Mr. Perry, of Madrid, are the energetic,
efficient, and active projectors and promoters of this grand enter
prise, in connection with myself, and in a few years I hope, if my
life is spared, to see this perfectly feasible plan of telegraphic union
accomplished."

The 1st of March, 1859, was a great day in the little island,
and in one of his familiar letters Professor Morse describes his
own feelings of pleasure in the events which were celebrated.

" ARROYO, PORTO Rico, March 2, 1859.
" I have just completed with success the construction and

692

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

organization of the short telegraphic line, the first in this island ;
initiating the great enterprise of the Southern Telegraph route to
Europe from our shores, so far as to interest the Porto Ricans in
the value of the invention. Yesterday was a day of great excite
ment here, for this small place. The principal inhabitants of this
place and Guayama determined to celebrate the completion of this
little line, in which they take a great pride, as being the first in the
island, and so they complimented me with a public breakfast, which
was presided over by the lieutenant-colonel commandant of
Guayama, the commandant and alcalde, the collector and captain
of the Port, with all the officials of the place, and the clergy of
Guayama and Arroyo, and gentlemen planters and merchants of the
two towns, numbering in all about forty. "We sat down at one
o'clock to a very handsome breakfast, and the greatest enthusiasm
and kind and generous feeling were manifested. My portrait was
behind me upon the wall, draped with the Spanish and American
flags. I gave them a short address of thanks, and took the opportu
nity to interest them in the great Telegraph line which will give
them communication with the whole world. I presume accounts
will be published in the United States, from the Porto-Rico papers.
Thus step by step (shall I not rather say, stride by stride ?) the Tele
graph is compassing the world.

" My accounts from Madrid assure me that the Government will
soon have all the papers prepared for granting the concession to
Mr. Perry, our former secretary of legation at Madrid, in connection
with Sir James Carmichael, Mr. John W. Brett, the New York, New
foundland, and London Telegraph Company, and others. The re
cent consolidation plan in the United States has removed the only
hesitation I had in sustaining this new enterprise, for I feared that
I might unwittingly injure, by a counter-plan, those it was my duty
to support. Being now in harmony with the American company,
and the Newfoundland company, I presume all my other companies
will derive benefit rather than injury from the success of this new
and grand enterprise. At any rate, I feel impelled to support all
plans that manifestly tend to the complete circumvention of the
globe, and the bringing into telegraphic connection all the nations
the earth, and this when I am not fully assured that present
personal interests may not temporarily suffer. I am glad to know
that harmonious arrangements are made between the various com-
>anies in the United States, although I have been so ill-used. But
it go. I will have no litigation if I can avoid it. Even may

GREETINGS OF HIS NEIGHBORS. 693

have the field in quiet, unless he has presented a case too flagrantly
unjust to leave unanswered."

He endeavored to possess his soul in patience, and, in a letter
to one of his near relatives, he said, in regard to one of his se
verest opponents : " Of the nature of this attack, I am as yet in
profound ignorance ; but it is rather a damper upon the joy with
which I usually return to my loved native land, that I have to
encounter the attacks of the envious, and the annoyance of the
sordid, and to know that, instead of rest in my old age, I must
yet buckle on my armor for self-defense. Well, this is all or
dered in wisdom. ' Shall we receive good at the hands of the
Lord, and shall we not receive evil ? ' I would rather ask for
proper submission, than be anxious to defeat those opposed to
me." And to another he wrote, at the same time : " When
I return to Poughkeepsie, it will be sad without your cheer
ful faces. But all in God's good time. He has purposes to
accomplish, of more wisdom, and vaster benefit to his rational
universe, than any we, with our selfish hearts, can devise. I
return from honors abundant in Europe, to encounter attacks in
various shapes at home ; but I am not cast down by. the pros
pect. I am most anxious that nothing I may be obliged to do,
in self-defense, shall dishonor my Master ; and all my hope, all
my strength, is in Him. If He undertakes for me — and He cer
tainly will — victory of the highest kind is sure, even if it does
not come exactly in the shape I might wish now."

After this delightful visit, the only one that he was ever able
to make to the home of his beloved daughter, Professor Morse
embarked, in the middle of April, in a sailing-vessel, with his
family, and returned to New York. A few days afterward, he
went to his country-seat in Poughkeepsie. His old neighbors
and friends gave him a welcome, as if he were a conquering
general returning from war. The Daily Press of the city
records :

" For some time previous to the hour at which the train was to
arrive, hundreds of people were seen flocking from all directions to
the railroad-depot, both in carriages and on foot; and, when the
train did arrive, and the familiar and loved form of Professor Morse
was recognized on the platform of the car, the air was rent with the

694 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

cheers of the assembled multitude. As soon as the cheers subsided,
Professor Morse was approached by the committee of reception,
and welcomed to the country of his birth, and to the home of his
adoption. A great procession was then formed, composed of the
carriages of citizens. The sidewalks were crowded with people on
foot, the children of the public schools, which had been dismissed
for the occasion, being quite conspicuous among them. Amid the
ringing of bells, the waving of flags, and the gratulations of the
people, the procession proceeded through a few of the principal
streets, and then drove to the beautiful residence of Professor
Morse, the band playing, as they entered the grounds, ' Sweet
Home,' and then * Auld Lang Syne.' . The gate-ways at the en
trance had been arched with evergreens and wreathed with flowers.
As the carriage containing their loved proprietor drove along the
graveled roads, we noticed that several of the domestics, unable to
restrain their welcomes, ran to his carriage, and gave and received
salutations. After a free interchange of salutations, and a general
* shake hands,' the people withdrew, and left their honored guest to
the retirement of his own beautiful home. So the world reverences
its great men, and so it ought. In Professor Morse we find those
simple elements of greatness which elevate him infinitely above the
hero of any of the world's sanguinary conflicts, or any of the most
successful aspirants after political power. He has benefited not
only America and the world, but has dignified and benefited the
whole race."

CHAPTEK XX.

1S60-1870.

AT HOME — VIEWS ON SECESSION AND THE WAR— EDUCATION OF HIS CHIL-
DEEN — LETTERS TO THEM — APPLICATIONS FOB AID — LAST VISIT TO EU-
EOPE — DUSSELDORF AND AETI8TS — PAEIS — ATTENTIONS PAID TO HIM — BE-
OEPTION AT COUET — THE GEEAT EXHIBITION — HABIT OF LIFE IN PAEIS
LABOES IN THE COMMITTEE ON TELEGEAPHS ISLE OF WIGHT DEES-
DEN PEESENTATION AT COUET BEELIN AND THE TELEGEAPH COEPS

; JEREMIAH" AND PEES-
r LESLIE HE PEESENTS
TO ACADEMY OF DESIGN — DONATION TO THEOLOGICAL DEPAETMENT OF
TALE COLLEGE — TO NEW YOEK UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY — BANQUET
IN NEW YORK — CHIEF-JUSTICE CHASE'S BEMARKS — PEOFES9OE MOESE's —
ME. HUNTINGTON'S — SUMMER AT POUGHKEEPSIE — HIS LEG is BROKEN —

PEOSTEATE FOE THEEE MONTHS STATUE OF HUMBOLDT STATUE OF

MOESE EEECTED BY TELEGEAPH-OPEEATOES CEEEMON1ES IN THE CEN-

TEAL PARK — ACADEMY OF MUSIC — ADDEESS BY PROFESSOR MORSE.

OK his return from Europe in 1859, Professor Morse saw
distinctly the signs of approaching war between the North
ern and Southern portions of the American Union. To prevent
the impending conflict, and preserve the peace of the country,
was the intense desire of his heart. He was an ardent patriot.
In England, during the -War of 1812-'14, he had on all occa
sions been the outspoken defender of his country. In his sub
sequent career, the recipient of distinguished honors from for
eign powers, and the guest of princes, he was still the unchanged,
simple republican citizen, and a thorough American. To him
the prospect of a civil war was terrible, and he was willing to
make any sacrifice to avert it. As the months and years of
fierce controversy passed along, and the cloud burst in a fearful

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE,
oyo

storm, he sought to arrest its course. He was decidedly op
posed to secession. Of the abstract right of it under the Con
stitution, he had doubts, but none as to its justice or expediency.
Associated with men of high standing in social and political life,
he sought, by the diffusion of tracts and books on the relations
of the States to the Federal Government, to reconcile contend
ing parties, and preserve the peace of the country. These ef
forts, made in the spirit of the purest patriotism, subjected him
to severe reproach. But he bore it with his characteristic pa
tience and equanimity, believing the time would come when
his motives would be understood. And, if they never should
be, he had the testimony of a good conscience that all the ends
he aimed at were Ms country's and God's.

The education of his children occupied a large share of his
attention. When they were at home he was their teacher;
when they were away at school he wrote to them constantly,
entering into their feelings, studying their tastes, and aiming at
the inculcation of those principles which were the basis of his
own character. Writing from Poughkeepsie to one of them,
August 17, 1862, he gave a description of another visit to his
native place :

" MY DEAR ARTHUR : Here we are again safely at home, after
our journeyings ,of two weeks. After we left you at Newport, we
arrived in Boston the same evening, and went to the Tremont
House. It was very warm on Saturday and Sunday, but on Satur
day your dear mamma and sister went with me over to Charlestown,
to see the town where your good grandfather was so long pastor of
the first church of Charlestown, and where your father was born. I
showed them the house, and, knocking at the door, a neat and
pleasant young woman opened it, and on telling her my errand she
very kindly conducted us up-stairs, and then we were in the room
where your father first saw the light. The house is a large double
house of wood, on the main street, one door opening on the street,
and the other, at which we knocked and entered, on the east side,
to which we had to pass through a gate and small grass-plot. The
other part of the house is occupied by the family of Captain Edes ;
they were all out of town. From thence we went upon Bunker's
ill, and to the monument, which is within gunshot of the house in
which I was born. Notwithstanding the day was so warm, your

ALL GONE. 697

sister and I mounted the two hundred and ninety steps to the top.
I was not fatigued, but your mother was fearful that the ascent
would be too fatiguing for her, so she did not go up with us. The
next day, Sunday, Cornelia and I went over again to Charlestown,
as I wished to attend church, on the spot and among the congre
gation where my excellent father preached. We attended church
there, heard an excellent sermon from a stranger, the regular cler
gyman being out of town. I looked round to see if there was a
single face I knew, and not one could I find ; every face was strange,
but there were two or three old ladies who looked constantly very
curiously at me and whispered together. So, when church was over,
I put myself in their way, and they said they were sure they knew
me. When I told them who I was, the son of 'their old pastor, they
all crowded around me and said, ' Oh, we must shake hands with
you, then ; ' and they seemed overjoyed to see me, invited me to
dinner, and would scarcely take no for an answer. I thanked them,
but declined, leaving my kind regards for any of my father's friends
who were still living.

" On Monday we all left Boston for Nantasket Beach, about
nineteen miles from Boston, and found a most beautiful sand-beach,
superior in many respects to the beach at Newport ; it is some five
miles in extent, reaching to a point opposite Boston Light-house.
The views here are more extensive and more varied than at New
port, islands and peninsulas varying the view, Boston, Charlestown,
and other suburban villages, in the distance, and the light-house,
with a beacon, looking like the posts of the great gates forming the
entrance to Boston harbor, between which all the great ships pass
in and out of the port. The surf is like that at Newport, on quite
as shallow and gradual a beach, but the water was purer, without
the slimy weeds of the Newport beach ; yet the water was much
colder ; most of the bathers preferred it thus, I did not. I bathed but
once, and think I took cold then, but I have recovered from its effects.
We returned to Boston after two days ; the last day, however, we
went on a fishing-excursion. Mother, Cornelia, and I, got up at
five o'clock, and, with two gentlemen besides, went off in a large
yacht, furnished with lines and bait, about two miles, where we
caught in about two hours some dozen of fish ; cod, perch, flounders,
and sculpions. I caught the largest, a cod, weighing about eight
pounds. We left Boston on Thursday morning, to return home by
way of Springfield and Hudson. We passed Thursday night at
Springfield, and the next day left for Hudson, by the way of Chat-

698 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

ham Four Corners, where we went to take a branch train to Hudson,
but, not being notified when we arrived at Chatham Four Corners, we
were taken some miles on the way to Albany before we discovered
our mistake, so we told the conductor to keep on and we would go
to Albany ; so we went to Albany while our trunks and other bag
gage went to Hudson ; but, on our arrival at Albany, the Telegraph
came to my help, and a few words to Hudson secured the safety of
the stray luggage. We dined in Albany, and took the cars at four
o'clock, and reached home just as soon as if no mistake had occurred.
We were all rejoiced to meet again, thankful -to Him who kept us
in health and safety in our separation, and brought us together
again in so much comfort, while others, no less deserving, have been
subjected to all the Horrors of this lamentable war. Many inquiries
were made after Arthur, and we are all looking forward to October
with the hope of having you with us for a while. Good-by, my
dear boy ; God bless you; and keep you from all harm to body and
soul, and early make you one of his chosen ones ! You little know
how much we love you, and how anxious we are to have you in
the way of true happiness. I leave a space for your dear mother
to fill. Again good-by.

" Your affectionate father, SAMUEL F. B. MOESE.

" Master S. ARTHUR B. MORSE."

Another letter to two of his sons shows the father, indul
gent and judicious :

" POUGHKEEPSIE, July 17, 1864.

"My DEAE BOYS: William goes to-morrow morning, and he
takes < Ponce,' the pony, for Willie ; and little * Nix,' the terrier,
for Arthur, from papa, and I believe there are some other things
for Mrs. Choules.

" Arthur, I bought the terrier for you ; he is young, about seven
months old. He is playful, but has very sharp teeth ; you will have
to coax him, for I find he does not come readily when called. If
you are gentle with him, and feed him yourself, I think he will soon
get attached to you, and, as he grows older, will come at your call.
Don't tease him, nor let the boys tease him, for it spoils his temper,
and he may be savage and bite you.— And, Willie, I hope you will
use your dear little pony very kindly and gently ; animals love
kindness as well as men. Don't whip him or drive him at a racing
pace this hot weather, or you may lose him. I hope you will have
him where he will be well taken care of.

SYMPATHY WITH INVENTORS. (399

" You see, my dear boys, what pains and expense we cheerfully
incur to make you happy, when we see you have good reports from
your teachers. It is on this account we grant these favors to you.
If you use them properly and do not let them take you away from
your studies, we can indulge you in your reasonable wishes ; but, if
we find you abuse these favors, we shall request Mr. Fay to deprive
you of them, because it will be necessary for your good. But I
won't believe my dear boys will abuse these favors, for they love
their father and mother, and I think they won't intentionally pain
them, by misusing their kindness. SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" To ARTHUR and WILLIE."

How patiently he bore the burden of applications for coun
sel and aid which were often made to him by men laboring as
he once labored with an unborn invention ! To such a man he
wrote :

" Were I a younger man, with less of the cares of a large family,
I should feel strongly disposed to examine and understand your
project, and, if satisfactory, to aid you with all the means I could
spare ; but I am now beyond the allotted age of man, and already
burdened with as many cares as I can well sustain.

" Should you visit New York, however, in the course of the win
ter, I expect to be at my house, 5 West Twenty-second Street, and
should be happy to understand your discovery and to put you in
the way of aid, by introducing you to those who may be able to as
sist you, and whose avocations would lead them to be interested in
it, more than it can interest me, as I am more interested in it indi
rectly, and as a general benefit, than directly.

" Inventors are apt to be sanguine, and often yield too much to
their imagination. Many projects appear well on paper, which fail
in practice from some unlooked-for mechanical difficulty. But these
matters you have doubtless considered. If you have indeed dis
covered a more economical motive-power than is now in use, and
have so far tested it as to be certain of success, you can scarcely
exaggerate its importance, and no one would feel more gratified
than myself to know that its discoverer is amply rewarded by fame
and fortune."

His children being now of an age when he thought it would
be for their advantage to study in Europe, he went abroad once
more. He crossed the ocean with his family in June, 1866,

700

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

and spent part of the summer at Aix-la-Chapelle. Visiting
Diisseldorf , he was received with great enthusiasm by the artists
whose favorite seat was in that city. He was now in circum
stances to be a patron of art, and he must have taken peculiar
pleasure as he remembered his own struggles as an artist, in
purchasing of various artists five pictures, which he sent home
to the care of Mr. Huntington, President of the National Acad
emy of Design, with permission to exhibit them. A very
pleasant incident at Diisseldorf he mentions in a letter to a
relative :

"When at Diisseldorf it so happened that, while at the hotel,
there was a society having its annual dinner in the salle d manger.
It was composed of some of the principal citizens of Diisseldorf.
The door being open to the reading-room, where I was reading the
papers, I could hear (although said in German) the words America
and telegraph^ which were never mentioned but with loud ap
plause. It seems Mr. Liech had informed the landlord, on my ar
rival, of my connection with the Telegraph ; so, when the speeches
were receiving great applause, the landlord whispered to the presi
dent that the American inventor of the Telegraph was at that mo
ment a guest in the hotel. Immediately there was a stir, the
president left his seat, and came out to me, and, apologizing for his
liberty, he asked if I had any objection to present myself at the
table ; on replying that, if it would give them any gratification, I
would cheerfully comply, he led me into the room, where I was
greeted in the most uproarious manner ; every one at table rose,
three cheers were given, all insisting on touching glasses with mine,
which they had filled with champagne. On the first subsidence of
this greeting, I was led to the chair by the side of the president,
who rose, and in a brief speech paid me and the United States some
handsome compliments, to which I briefly replied by thanks in
English, which he rendered into German ; I then begged leave to
retire, but could not until the ceremony of once more touching
glasses had been performed, by every one at table, about forty
persons."

The remainder of the summer was spent in Switzerland.
In the autumn he went to Paris, and took apartments at No. 10
Avenue du Koi de Rome. His arrival was recognized by such
attentions as are only extended to the most distinguished per-

ATTENTIONS IN PARIS. 701

sonages. The Emperor of the French, then in the zenith of his
glory, omitted no opportunity to do him honor. Professor
Morse was invited on all state occasions, and the best places
were reserved for him and his family. At the court parties,
they were placed with the imperial family and the diplomatic
corps.

This (1867), the year of the great Exposition in Paris, he
spent with his family, in the enjoyment of all which a good,
prosperous, and great man could desire. Identifying himself
with American society — contributing freely to the support of
the American chapel, with which he and his family were con
nected — he sought to be useful in the various departments of
society, as he would be if he were in his own country, and at
home. He was now at the summit of human fame. It has
oftentimes been said, and with truth, that no private individ
ual was ever more highly honored among men than he. His
name was familiar as that of the great benefactor of his race in
all countries of the civilized world. Strangers of distinction,
visiting Paris, sought him, to pay their respects. Members of
royal families sent to know when it would be convenient for
him to receive them ; and, at the hour appointed, they called in
state, to express to him the honor in which he was held. It
was his custom to devote the morning of every day to his study.
At this time, he prepared a pamphlet of nearly a hundred pages,
containing a defense of himself, as the inventor of the Tele
graph, in reply to attacks which were made upon him by Eng
lish claimants. He consulted his friends, in relation to his duty
in this matter. He had now reached that period in life, and
that position in the esteem of the world, when he was far more
disposed to rest quietly upon the good sense and intelligent
judgment of mankind, and to consider the question as to his
claims as fairly settled by the verdict of the world, than to pro
long the controversy, and to reiterate the evidence which had
been so frequently produced and published. But the advice
which he received from all those with whom he conferred upon
the subject encouraged him to take up his pen, and to give a
history of the steps by which he accomplished the great work
of his life. This pamphlet was printed and published in Paris,
circulated among the scientific societies of Europe, and placed in

702 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

the hands of thoughtful men, who were competent to weigh the
evidence, and to judge candidly as to the claims of the inventor.
No attempt was ever afterward made to interfere with the just
claims of Mr. Morse to the honor which he had firmly claimed,
as his own right, and that of the country which he loved. Ex
tracts from this pamphlet, giving the process of the invention,
with numerous drawings, form an Appendix to this volume,
and should be studiously examined by every intelligent reader.
His morning studies being completed, he was in the habit,
daily, of visiting the great Exposition, and spending several
hours in the examination of an almost infinite variety of me
chanical inventions. He was one of the committee upon tele
graphic instruments. He earnestly desired to be excused from
serving, from the fact that his prejudices were, naturally, greatly
influenced by his relations to the various inventions which were
before the public, and were now upon exhibition. But it was
pressed upon him, as he was, of all men, the most thoroughly
qualified to sit in judgment upon the comparative merits of
the several contrivances. He consented to serve; and, with

. industry and patience, he devoted himself to an investigation of
the several instruments, and prepared a report at great length —
exhaustive in its research and comparisons — which was pub
lished with the official reports of the Exhibition.

At the close of the Exposition, Mr. Morse made another tour
on the Continent. Now, as before, wherever he went, he was
received with marks of attention from governments and people,
as if he himself were the representative of a nation, or a royal
personage upon his travels. His modesty was equal to his
merit. Honored with marks of distinction from the various

, governments of Europe, which would have made him more
conspicuous, in the midst of public assemblies, than any other
individual, of whatever official rank, he steadily avoided, in
his dress and equipage, any thing which might attract to him
self the notice of the public, or which, in any manner, would
distinguish him from his countrymen. On one occasion, he
was called to a consultation with the official representatives of
several European countries, in relation to telegraphic matters ;
and he asked me whether it would be proper for him, on this
occasion, to wear the insignia which had been conferred upon

ON THE CONTINENT. 703

him, by the several governments, on account of his inven
tion. He said that there were two reasons why it seemed
to him that it might be desirable for him, on such an occa
sion, to display them. In the first place, it would mark, in
the presence of the representatives of these governments, his
sense of the honor which he had received' from their several
sovereigns ; and, in the second place, such was the estimate of
these marks of distinction in Europe, that he would be, perhaps,
more respected, and therefore more influential, in the confer
ence in which he was to engage. I concurred in this opinion,
and advised him that it would be, not only proper, but useful,
to put them on. But his native modesty controlled his action,
and, when I asked him, afterward, whether he wore his decora
tions, he laughingly replied that, when it came to the point, he
was unable to be reconciled to what he thought was a humilia
tion rather than an enviable distinction, and he went in ordinary
citizen's dress — perhaps with nothing more than the ribbon of
the Legion of Honor in his button-hole.

After passing a few months on the Isle of Wight, the Pro
fessor and family went to Dresden for the winter of 1867.
Three months were spent in that delightful city. His presenta
tion at the court of the King of Saxony was a compliment paid
to his distinguished services.

From Dresden, Professor Morse repaired to Berlin, where
he was specially honored by those who were the best qualified
to appreciate the magnitude and importance of his work. From
Mr. Bancroft, the United States Minister, and members of the
Prussian Government, he received constant attentions. He re
mained but a few days in Berlin, and was obliged to decline a
presentation at court which was tendered him.

But anxious to learn the latest views in the science of teleg
raphy, he called upon General (then Colonel) von Chauvin, the
distinguished chief of the German telegraphic system, which, as
inmost European countries, is a government monopoly and ad
ministered by government officials. Before the interview was con
cluded, a messenger came in and spoke in German to the chief,
who, as Mr. Morse was about to depart, said that the " opera
tors " had heard of his presence in the building, and exceedingly
desired to see him. Having kindly assented to the presentation,

704 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Mr. Morse was led by the chief into a neighboring apartment,
and there found himself facing several hundred gentlemen seated
in a vast hall, the largest operating-room in the world. At a
signal, the instruments ceased clicking, and each person stood
erect and d la militaire.

" Gentlemen,"' began Colonel von Chauvin, " you have the
honor to see before you the Father of the Telegraph."

All bowed profoundly again and again with such reverence
that, as says a letter writer, who relates the incident, " the fond
parent was quite embarrassed in the presence of so much of
his children."

'Not to recount the many tributes of esteem and respect paid
him by Dr. Siemens and other gentlemen eminent in the specialty
of telegraphy, one other unexpected compliment may be men
tioned. The Professor was presented to the accomplished Gen
eral Director of the Posts of the North-German Bund, Privy-
Councilor von Phillipsborn, in whose department the telegraph
had been comprised before Prussia became so great, and the
centre of a powerful confederation. At the time of their visit,
the director was so engaged, and that, too, in another part of
the Post-Amt, that the porter said it was useless to trouble him
with the cards. The names had not been long sent up, however,
before the director himself came hurriedly down the corridor
into the antechamber, and, scarcely waiting for the hastiest of
introductions, enthusiastically grasped both the Professor's hands
in his own, asking whether he had " the honor of speaking to
Doctor Morse," or, as he pronounced it, " Morzey."

When, after a brief conversation, Mr. Morse rose to go, the
director said that he had just left a conference over a new post
and telegraph treaty in negotiation between Belgium and the
Bund, and that it would afford him great pleasure to be per
mitted to present his guest to the assembled gentlemen, includ
ing the Belgian envoy and the Belgian postmaster-general.

There followed, accordingly, a formal presentation, with an
introductory address by the director, who, in excellent Eng-
ish, thanked Mr. Morse, in the name of Prussia and of all Ger
many, for his great services ; and speeches by the principal per
sons present, the Belgian envoy, Baron de Nothomb, very felici
tously complimenting the Professor in French.

GERMAN TELEGRAPH OPERATORS. 705

Succeeding the hand-shaking, the director spoke again, and,
in reply, Mr. Morse gratefully acknowledged the courtesy shown
to him, adding : "It is very gratifying to me to hear you say
that the Telegraph has been and is a means of promoting peace
among men. Believe me, gentlemen, my remaining days shall
be devoted to this great object."

Before Mr. Morse withdrew, the director said he had a
further request to make : In the adjoining room was the Coun
cilor , the principal adviser of the department in legal

questions connected with the Telegraph, especially in reference
to international relations ; and the councilor would consider it
an event in his life to be presented to Mr. Morse. The gen
tleman was therefore summoned, and soon entered ; suppos
ing, doubtless, that his professional assistance was required.
When told that the venerable gentleman before him was Pro
fessor Morse, he gave expression to his surprise and pleasure.
The director then led his visitors into a small, cozily furnished
room, saying as they entered, " Here I have so often thought
of you, Mr. Morse, but I never thought I should have the honor
of receiving you in my own private room."

After they were seated, the host, tapping upon a small table,
continued, " Over this passed the important telegrams of the
"War of 1866." Then, approaching a large telegraph-map on
the wall, he added : " Upon this you can see how invaluable
was the telegraph in the war. Here," pointing with the fore
finger of his right hand, " here the crown prince came down
through Silesia. This," indicating, with the other forefinger,
a passage through Bohemia, " was the line of march of Prince
Friedrich Carl. From this station, the crown prince telegraphed
Prince Friedrich Carl, always over Berlin, ' Where are youf
The answer from this station reached him also over Berlin.

" The Austrians were here," placing the thumb on the map
below, and between the two fingers. " The next day Prince
Friedrich Charles comes here," the left forefinger joined the
thumb, " and telegraphs the fact, always over Berlin, to the
crown prince, who hurries forward here," the forefinger of
the right hand slipped quickly under the thumb as if to pinch
something, and the narrator looked up significantly. Perhaps
the patriotic director thought of the July afternoon, when,
45

^Og • LITE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

eagerly listening at the little mahogany-topped table, aver which
passed so many momentous messages, he learned that the royal
cousins had effected a junction at Konigsgratz, a junction that
decided the fate of Germany and secured Prussia its present
proud position, — a junction which, but for his modest visitor's
invention, the telegraph " always over Berlin," would have been
impossible.

Leaving Berlin, Professor Morse came to Paris, and passed a
few weeks before embarking for New York. While here he had
the great pleasure of receiving his portrait of Thorwaldsen, and
of forwarding it to General Raastoff, the Danish Minister of
"War. In his letter to the minister he begged him to present
the portrait to the king as " an acknowledgment on my part of
Danish hospitality in 1856, and a mark of my own personal
veneration for the names and labors of those noble Danes,
Thorwaldsen and Oersted." He was now turning his face
toward the west, to the setting sun ; the close of his career on
earth he felt to be necessarily not far off. The honors that
came from men had been enjoyed throughout this journey. In
every city his presence had been marked with the attentions of
men of learning and position. If justice had not been done in
bestowing pecuniary rewards that he deserved, the full measure
of honor had been awarded, and he was prepared to go home,
with the assurance that the world had at last given Morse and
America the credit of inventing the Recording Telegraph.

He left Havre in the St.-Laurent, in the latter part of May,
1868, and in early June was once more welcomed by his neigh
bors and friends in Poughkeepsie, Never was his rural home
more lovely and inviting than when he entered again into its de
lights, and, far from palaces, courts, and kings, he sat down to its
quiet enjoyment. He was not to be idle, though free from the
cares of office and business. He was one to whom men came
for advice and aid^ in every variety of useful work. One let
ter to an applicant for pecuniary assistance and counsel might
serve as a circular to be addressed to many others seeking the
same favors. To a gentleman in Yirginia he wrote a few days
after he arrived at home :

I received this morning your letter of yesterday, with its in-
closures, and, while I was deeply interested in the details of your

LETTER TO AN INVENTOR. 707

beautiful invention, I could not but regret that it is entirely out of
my power to give you the aid you desire. You would understand
my position in regard to applications from all quarters for aid
toward projects of every kind, if you could see the pile of letters so
liciting aid, which daily accumulates upon my table. It has become
utterly impossible to answer favorably the tenth part of these appli
cations made to me. You could scarcely have taken a more unfor
tunate time to solicit me at this moment of my return when, from
the condition of my property, after an absence of two years, I am
compelled to disburse some thousands to put it in repair, and this
after having, as late as the 16th instant, subscribed to the utmost
of my ability, a large sum, which will 'require the utmost care and
economy on my part to pay during the remainder of my life.

" Let me say, nevertheless, that I consider your discovery, and
the invention based upon it, as one of great value, as one which, in
an eminent degree, has demands' upon the attention of the Govern
ment, in the departments having care of the public lands and the
protection of our navigation. Have you made it known to the Sec
retary of the Navy, the Secretary of War, and the Secretary of the
Interior? Each one of these departments is directly interested in
the results of your invention, and, if they have a contingent fund at
their disposal, so small a sum comparatively as you desire could not
be better bestowed than in enabling you to bring it before the
world in its perfected shape. You have, at least, my hearty wishes
for your success."

He was a willing and loving patron of art. Especially dear
to him were the memories of Allston and Leslie, his teacher and
his fellow-student in the days of his early struggles. Before he
went abroad on his last visit, he had learned that a project was
on foot to purchase Allston's portrait by Leslie, to be presented
to the National Academy of Design. Instantly he determined
to purchase the picture of his teacher, painted by his friend, and
to give it to the Academy which he founded and cherished with
parental affection and pride. In his letter to the committee hav
ing it in charge, he said : " There are associations in my mind
with those two eminent and beloved names which appeal too
strongly to me to be resisted. Now I have a favor to ask which
I hope will not be denied. It is that I may be allowed to pre
sent to the Academy that portrait in my own name. You can

708

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

appreciate the arguments which have influenced my wishes in
this respect. Allston was more than any other person my mas
ter in art. Leslie was my life-long cherished friend and fellow-
pupil, whom I loved as a brother. We all lived together for
years in the closest intimacy and in the same house. Is there
not, then, a fitness that the portrait of the master by one distin
guished pupil should be presented by the surviving pupil to the
Academy over which he presided in its infancy, as well as as
sisted in its birth ? and, although divorced from art, cannot so
easily be divorced from the memories of an intercourse with
these distinguished friends, an intercourse which never for one
moment suffered interruption, even from a shadow of estrange
ment. I inclose you my check for five hundred dollars, leaving
you and the gentlemen in charge of the purchase to act your
pleasure in the matter."

While Professor Morse was in Europe in 1866, the cele
brated painting of " Jeremiah," by Allston, came before the
public under circumstances of peculiar interest. In consequence
of the death of a lady of Newport, Ehode Island, for whom it
was painted fifty years before, it was placed in the Redwood
Library at Newport, with a view to its being sold ; when a lady
and gentleman of New Haven happened to see it, who brought
back word that this prize might be secured for the Yale School
of Art at the price of seven thousand dollars. This matter was
accordingly taken up, and, after some subscriptions for the pur
chase had been obtained, the council of the school, through
the great liberality of ex-Governor Gibbs, of Newport, admin
istrator of the estate to which the picture belonged, were al
lowed to have possession of it for a limited time, in the hope
that the proceeds of exhibition, together with such subscriptions
as might be added by visitors, would make up the amount re
quired for the purchase. The painting represents the prophet,
seated in " the court of the prison," where he was shut up for
the testimony which he bore against the lying prophets and re
creant priests of his generation, and is supposed to be trans
ported with a vision of the capture and spoiling of Jerusalem by
the King of Babylon. After the picture had been exhibited for
some time at New Haven, subscriptions were solicited for the
purpose of purchasing it for the college. When Professor

THE TWO GIFTS. 709

Morse returned from Europe (in 1868) the subject was brought
to his attention, and he requested permission to present the pict
ure to the college. With the consent of those who had sub
scribed already, he assumed the entire expense, and, purchasing
the picture by his beloved teacher, for seven thousand dollars,
gave it to his Alma Mater.

Thus, by these two gifts in honor of his teacher, he endowed
his child, the Academy, and the College, his mother, with memo
rials of Allston. This gift of the picture was soon followed by a
donation of ten thousand dollars to the building fund of the The
ological Department of Yale College. President Woolsey wrote
to the Professor July 27, 1868, and said : " I write as instructed
by the corporation of Yale College, to express their gratitude to
you for your very generous subscription to the fund for the
Theological building. Permit me also to add my own personal
sense of your munificence. I had the honor last commencement
to convey the thanks of the Fellows to you for your gift of All-
ston's picture, and I did not think that this would be followed
by a still greater gift."

To the Union Theological Seminary, in the city of New
York,Jie also presented the sum of ten thousand dollars, endow
ing a lectureship 011 the " Relation of the Bible to the Sciences,"
and to be named in honor of his father, the Rev. Dr. Morse,
whose labors in the cause of theological education and geographi
cal science rendered the testimonial peculiarly appropriate.

BANQUET IN NEW YORK.

Toward the close of this year (1868) his fellow-citizens in
vited Professor Morse to meet them at a public dinner. The
letter of invitation was addressed to him by a large number
of distinguished gentlemen, who united in saying : " Many of
your countrymen, and numerous personal friends, desire to give
a definite expression of the fact that this country is in full ac
cord with European nations in acknowledging your title to the
position of the Father of the Modern Telegraphs, and at the
same time, in a fitting manner, to welcome you to your home."
The invitation was accepted, and the day designated for the
banquet was December 30, 1868. It was designed as the crown
ing honor of the great inventor's life, by his own countrymen.

71Q LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

The Chief-Justice of the United States, who had been the lead-
in«- counsel against Professor Morse in the first lawsuit brought
to°defend his rights, was now called to preside at a banquet
which was to testify that, in the judgment of his country and the
world, the Telegraph was the child of Morse and America. The
ill inier was given at Delmonico's, on the corner of Fifth Ave
nue and Fourteenth Street, New York. Some of the most emi
nent persons in the country were present ; the speeches and gen
eral proceedings were marked with good sense and good feeling.
The Hon. Salmon P. Chase, Chief-Justice, presided, having on
his right Professor Morse, and on his left Sir Edward Thornton,
H. B. M. Minister to the United States. About two hundred
gentlemen sat down at the dinner. After the blessing had been
invoked by the Rev. William Adams, D. D., the banquet en
joyed, and thanks returned by the Eev. A. H. Yinton, D. D.,
Mr. Field presented letters from the President of the United
States ; from General Grant ; from Speaker Colfax ; from Admi
ral Farragut, and others, and then read a telegram from the Gov
ernor of Massachusetts, the State in which Professor Morse was
born :

" Massachusetts honors her two sons — Franklin and Morse. The
one conducted the lightning safely from the sky; the other con
ducts it beneath the ocean, from continent to continent. The one
tamed the lightning ; the other makes it minister to human wants
and human progress. ALEXANDER H. BULLOCK, Governor"

" This morning," said Mr. Field, " I sent a telegram to Lon
don, giving information that we were to meet this evening to
honor our fellow-citizen, Professor Morse." The following re
ply was received :

" * LONDON, 4 O'CLOCK P. M., December 29, 1868.

" ' CYRUS W. FIELD, New York : The members of the Joint Com
mittee of the Anglo-American and Atlantic Telegraph Companies
hear with pleasure of the banquet to be given this evening to Pro
fessor Morse, and desire to greet that distinguished telegraphist,
and wish him all the compliments of the season.'

<: This telegram was sent from London at four o'clock this af
ternoon, and was delivered into the hands of your committee at
12.50." (Applause and laughter.)

THE CHIEF-JUSTICE SPEAKS. 711

The speeches that followed were made by men representing
various countries and interests. Sir Edward Thornton, the
British Minister, said that he " had great satisfaction in being
able to contribute his mite of that admiration and esteem for
Professor Morse which must be felt by all for so great a bene
factor of his fellow-creatures and of posterity." When Chief-
Justice Chase was about to introduce the guest of the evening,
he made a few remarks, in which he said : ,

"Many shining names will at once occur to any one at all
familiar with the history of the Telegraph. Among them I can
pause to mention only those of Volta, the Italian, to whose dis
coveries the battery is due ; Oersted, the Dane, who first discovered
the magnetic properties of the electric current ; Ampere and Arago,
the Frenchmen, who prosecuted still further and most successfully
similar researches ; then Sturgeon, the Englishman, who may be
said to have made the first electro-magnet ; next, and not least il
lustrious among these illustrious men, our countryman, Henry, who
first showed the practicability of producing electro-magnetic effects
by means of the galvanic current, at distances indefinitely great ;
and finally, Steinheil, the German, who, after the invention of the
Telegraph in all its material parts was complete, taught, in 3837,
the use of the ground as a part of the circuit. These are some of
those searchers for truth whose names will be long held in grateful
memory, and not among the least of their titles to gratitude and
remembrance will be the discoveries which contributed to the possi
bility of the modern Telegraph.

" But these discoveries only made the Telegraph possible. They
offered the brilliant opportunity ; there was needed a man to bring
into being the new art and the new interest to which they pointed.
And it is the providential distinction and splendid honor of the
eminent American who is our guest to-night that, happily prepared
by previous acquirements and pursuits, he was quick to seize the
opportunity and give to the world the first recording Telegraph.
Fortunate man! thus to link his name forever with the greatest
wonder and the greatest benefit of the age ! " (Great applause.)
" I give you, l Our guest, Professor S. B. Morse — the man of science,
who explored the laws of Nature, wrested electricity from her em
brace, and made it a missionary in the cause of human progress.' ''

The venerable Professor, the father of the Telegraph, arose,
under emotion too strong to be concealed, and his rising was

712

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

hailed with deafening applause. The whole company, on their
feet, gave cheer after cheer, and when the applause had in a
measure subsided it broke out again and again, as the opportu
nity was taken by the entire assembly to express their grateful
admiration of the illustrious man before them. And in that
body of eminent men, had he been unknown, he would have
been distinguished by his majestic, patriarchal appearance and
bearing. At last silence was obtained and the Professor began.
As much that he said in his sketch of the invention and prog
ress of the Telegraph has been already rehearsed, a few passages
only from his speech will be given :

" Various and conflicting memories crowd upon me at this mo
ment — memories which this demonstration has quickened into life.
What train of thought, what incidents of the past, in the brief mo
ments allotted to me, can I select from this mass of recollections
which may contribute either to your profit or your pleasure ? "

He then recounted the evidences he had received from for
eign countries of their sense of indebtedness to him ; he told
the story of the invention of the Telegraph on board the Sully
in 1832 ; of its exhibition in 1835 and 183T, and its final triumph
in 1844. He spoke of the great scientific men whose discov
eries made the Telegraph possible, and acknowledged his own
indebtedness to them ; of his early struggles, of the reluctance
. of the Government to aid the experiment ; of the debate in Con
gress ; of his offer to the Government of the Telegraph for pos
tal service ; of the services of Alfred Vail and Amos Kendall
and others who had sustained him in his labors, and he concluded
his address by saying :

" I have claimed for America the origination of the modern
telegraph system of the world. Impartial history, I think, will sup
port that claim. Do not misunderstand me as disparaging or dis
regarding the labors and ingenious modifications of others in various
countries, employed in the same field of invention. Gladly, did
time permit, would I descant upon their great and varied merits.
Yet, in tracing the birth and pedigree of the modern Telegraph,
4 American ' is not the highest term of the series that connects
the past with the present ; there is at least one higher term, the
highest of all, which cannot and must not be ignored. If not a

MR. HUNTINGTON'S SPEECH. 713

sparrow falls to the ground without a definite purpose in the plans
of Infinite Wisdom, can the creation of an instrumentality, so vitally
affecting the interests of the whole human race, have an origin less
humble than the Father of every good and perfect gift ? I am sure
I have the sympathy of such an assembly as is here gathered, if, in
all humility and in the sincerity of a grateful heart, I use the words
of inspiration in ascribing honor and praise to Him to whom first of
all and most of all it is preeminently due. ' Not unto us, not unto
us, but to God be all .the glory.' Not what hath man, but ' What
hath God wrought f ' "

The Professor resumed his seat in the midst of long-con
tinued and hearty applause. Speeches were then made by Pro
fessor Goldwin Smith, Hon. William M. Evarts, A. A. Low,
Esq., William Cuilen Bryant, Esq., William Orton, Esq., David
Dudley Field, Esq., Hon. William E. Dodge, Hugh Allan, Esq.,
Daniel Huntington, Esq., and Governor Curtin, of Pennsyl
vania, Mr. Huntington, the artist, a former pnpil of Morse,
alluded in beautiful terms to his early associations with the
Professor :

" Every studio," he said, " is more or less a laboratory. The
painter is a chemist, delving into the secrets of pigments, varnishes,
mixtures of tints, and mysterious preparations of grounds and over
laying of colors ; occult arts, by which the inward light is made to
gleam from the canvas and the warm flesh to glow and palpitate.
The studio of my beloved master, in whose honor we have met to
night, was indeed a laboratory. Vigorous, life-like portraits, poetic
and historic groups, occasionally grew upon his easel ; but there
were many hours — yes, days — when, absorbed in study among gal
vanic batteries and mysterious lines of wire, he seemed to us like
an alchemist of the middle ages in search of the philosopher's stone.
I can never forget the occasion when he called his pupils together
to witness one of the first, if not the first, successful experiment
with the electric Telegraph. It was in the winter of 1835-'36. I
can now see that rude instrument, constructed with an old stretch
ing-frame, a wooden clock, a home-made battery, and the wire
stretched many times round the walls of the studio. With eager
interest we gathered about it, as our master explained its operation,
while with a click, click, the pencil, by a succession of dots and
lines, recorded the message in cipher. The idea was born. The

7U LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

words circled that upper chamber as they do now the globe. But
we had little faith. To us it seemed a dream of enthusiasm. We
grieved to see the sketch upon the canvas untouched. We longed
to see him again calling into life events in our country's history,
but it was not to be. God's purposes were being accomplished, and
now the world is witness to his triumph. Yet the love of art still
lives in some inner corner of his heart, and I know he can never
enter the studio of a painter and see the artist silently bringing
from the canvas forms of life and beauty, but he feels a tender
twinge as one who catches a glimpse of the beautiful girl he loved
in his youth whom another has snatched away.

" Finally, my dear master and father in art, allow me, in this mo
ment of your triumph in the field of discovery, to greet you in the
name of your brother artists with ' All hail ! ' As an artist you
might have spent life worthily in turning God's blessed daylight
into sweet hues of rainbow colors and into breathing forms for the
delight and consolation of men, but it has been his will that you
should train the lightnings, the sharp arrows of his anger, into the
swift yet gentle messengers of peace and love."

When Mr. Huntington had concluded, the ladies, who had
graced the banquet by their presence, began to retire. The
president, however, announced the last toast, "The Ladies,"
and said: "This is the most inspiring theme of all; but the
theme itself seems to be vanishing from us — indeed" (after
a pause), "has already vanished" (after another pause and a
glance around the room), " and the gentleman who was to have
responded seems also to have vanished with his theme. I may
assume, therefrom, that the duties of the evening are performed,
and its enjoyments are at an end."

This testimonial by his own countrymen, calling forth, as it
did, expressions from the press and from men of science and
practical knowledge of the Telegraph in all parts of his own
country and in distant lands, was justly regarded by Professor
Morse as the final verdict in his case. He accepted it with
grateful appreciation, esteeming it one of the most valuable as
well as pleasing testimonies to the greatness and usefulness of
his labors. He had, however, no relaxation from the work of
his life. The report of his examination of the telegraphic in
struments at the Paris Exposition was still unfinished. He had

HIS LEG BROKEN. 715

begun it in Paris and continued it on the Isle of Wight, where
he fled for rest. He wrought upon it in Dresden. He brought
it home with him and spent his summer days upon it in his
rural home at Poughkeepsie. It was now his daily task. He
completed it in the course of the year 1869 and it was published
by the Government of the United States, making a document
of nearly two hundred pages, illustrated with numerous drawings,
and stored with valuable information. ISTor was this the chief
labor with which the man of nearly fourscore years was bur
dened. " Such is the weight of my correspondence," he writes
in a letter to a friend, in February, 1869, " I have the pen in
my hand from the earliest daylight until twelve at midnight."
But his patience and perseverance were sufficient for the day and
the burden. He was conscious of the progress of time, and he
worked on steadily, that when the end came he might be found
doing.

In the latter part of May he went up to his country-seat
with his family, and enjoyed again the delights of the country
he so much loved. The summer was sadly broken in upon by
an accident that would have been easily fatal to most men of
his great age. His foot tripped upon the stair and he fell,
breaking both bones of his leg below the knee. It was sup
posed, almost as a matter of course, that he could not survive
the shock. He was laid upon his bed for three months, with
his leg in the stocks. But the months were cheerful and peace
ful. He received his friends with cordiality. He made no
complaints, but quietly waited the recuperating powers of Nature.
In due time he was about again on crutches ; then these were
laid aside and he walked erect, firm and freely as ever. This
accident prevented him from assisting at the inauguration of the
statue of Alexander Humboldt in the Central Park, to which
he had contributed, but his letter was deposited in the pedi
ment. He expressed his regret at being unable to be present,
and said :

" I owed my personal acquaintance with Humboldt to his knowl
edge of my father by correspondence many, many years ago, and
when I was a student in the arts in Paris, in the years 1831, 1832,
he took pains to find me out, and I have since often called to mind
the friendly interest he manifested in the progress of my studies of

716 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

the works of the old masters in the Louvre. It was his custom, for
some time in the winter of the years 1831-1832, to recreate during a
portion of the day in that splendid gallery, and more than once did he
linger by my easel, and, requesting me to relieve myself awhile from
my studies, he desired me to accompany him in the examination of
some of the masterpieces of art. At this time I frequently met him
at the soirees of the Baron Gerard, where not merely the distin
guished artist, but men illustrious in all the departments of science,
and of various nations, weekly assembled. At these soirees I was
first struck with the wonderful readiness of the learned Humboldt,
in conversing in so many different languages ; Spaniards, Turks,
Swedes, Danes, Russians, as well as Germans, French, and English,
would address him in almost the same breath, and the prompti
tude of his passing from one language to another, and the fluency
and vivacity with which he alike conversed with all of them, were
the source of frequent remark and admiration. "When, after an in
terval of six years, I revisited Paris in 1838, in a different capacity,
with my Telegraph invention, I again met at the Academy of Sci
ences with Baron Humboldt. Invited by the Perpetual Secretary,
the renowned Arago, to a seat within the pale of assembled mem
bers, I sat at a short distance from Baron Humboldt, and I can never
forget the feelings of encouragement, in those anxious moments,
when, after the lucid explanation of my Telegraph to the Academy
by M. Arago, the Baron Humboldt arose, and, taking my hand, con
gratulated me and thanked me before them all. It was not until
the summer of 1856 that, traveling in the north of Europe, I visited
Berlin, and again saw, and for the last time, this illustrious man, in
one of his homes in the Royal Palace of Potsdam. I was received
with his usual kindness of manner. He spoke with enthusiasm of
the probable future of American science, and warmed with more
than usual enthusiasm in expatiating with praise upon the scientific
labors of Maury and Dana. Of the latter, he said that his then re
cent work was one of the most valuable contributions to science of
the age. In parting with him, he alluded to his advancing years,
spoke with feeling of the probability that we should never meet
again, and, presenting me with his photographic portrait, and his
autograph upon it, bade me farewell."

STATUE OF MORSE.

Few men are permitted to see their own statues, erected by
their grateful contemporaries. And of many inventors it is said

THE MORSE STATUE. 717

that, wanting bread, they receive only a stone, and not even
that until long after they have been starved to death. It was
the good fortune of Professor Morse to live until thousands of
his fellow-creatures were enjoying the substantial benefits re
sulting from his labors. The affection with which he regarded
all those who were employed in developing and using his inven
tion was reciprocated by the tens of thousands of operators and
officers in every land, and especially in all parts of his native
land. To a vast number of men and women, his Telegraph fur
nished, as means of support, a simple, useful, agreeable, and re
munerative employment. It was an invention of their own to
make some testimonial of their gratitude and appreciation of his
service to them as well as to the whole world. In the year
1869 an organization was form'ed in Alleghany City, Pennsyl
vania, " to testify to Professor Morse the veneration and respect
entertained for him by the operators, and others." This associa
tion was soon made national, with Mr. James D. Reid, of New
York, as chairman; Mr. * John Homer, New York, treasurer;
and Mr. Robert B. Hoover, who originated the movement, as
secretary. An executive committee, covering the whole coun
try, was appointed. The Hon. William Orton, President of the
"Western Union Telegraph Company, issued a letter, saying:
" The movement is one which merits, and will receive, my
wrarmest sympathy, and most hearty encouragement. The ven
erable i Father of all the Telegraphs' has long since passed the
meridian of life ; and, although his step is firm and his eye un-
dimmed, he is nearing rapidly the verge of that dark river from
whose farther shore no message ever comes. It becomes, there
fore, all who know and love him, as all who know him do, not
to delay their tributes of respect and affection. And I am con
fident that all connected with us will take pleasure in rendering
whatever assistance they are able." The shape the testimonial
would finally take was not then determined. A circular was
telegraphed over the land proposing that each person connected
with the lines should contribute ONE DOLLAR, although more or
less would be received, with the hope that every one, from the
president to the messenger-boy, might have a share in the work.
The subscriptions began to come in with the usual speed of the
Telegraph. Its fitting motto would be, " What is to be done

718

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

must be done quickly." The cheerful and general response jus
tified the contemplation of a memorial worthy of the man and
the country that would do him honor. It was decided to erect
a bronze statue of Professor Morse. The Central Park in the
city of New York was selected as the most appropriate place for
its erection. Permission was cheerfully granted by the Park
Commission. The proposal was hailed by the public press as emi
nently becoming and deserved. "Within two years of the concep
tion of the idea to make the testimonial, the money was raised by
these small contributions, the statue was completed, and the day
appointed for its inauguration. The most extensive and judicious
arrangements were made for the celebration of the day. Dele
gates, deputed by telegraphic associations, arrived from Penn
sylvania, Mississippi, District of Columbia, Maryland, Connect
icut, Canada, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Georgia, Ohio, Tennes
see, Illinois, New Jersey, Iowa, North Carolina, Michigan, Ken
tucky, California, Nebraska, Indiana, Yermont, Maine, Rhode
Island, West Virginia, Virginia, Minnesota, and Nova Scotia.
The day (June 10, 1871) was brilliant, cool, and auspicious. A
thousand telegraphic visitors, gentlemen and ladies from abroad,
were received as guests, and spent the forenoon in making an
excursion, on board a steamer, around the city; giving three
cheers for Professor Morse as they landed. The afternoon saw
the park alive with the people of the city and surrounding coun
try, gathered in multitudes ; the wealth and fashion of the town,
and masses of people who knew and prized the value of labor,
thought, and patient perseverance, now to be honored. The
statue stood in the angle between two platforms for the invited
guests, and was wrapped in the folds of the Stars and Stripes.
The band from Governor's Island was in attendance and played
a selection of national airs.

Shortly after four o'clock, amid cheers from the multitude
assembled, Governor John T. Hoffman arose and delivered an
eloquent address. He said : « If the inventor of the alphabet be
deserving of the highest honors, so is he whose great achieve
ment marks this epoch in the history of language— the inven
tor of the Electric Telegraph. We intend, so far as in us lies,
:hat the men who come after us shall be at no loss to discover
his name for want of recorded testimony."

CELEBRATION IN THE ACADEMY. 719

After Governor Hoffman had closed his address, Governor
Claflin and the Hon. Win. Orton threw aside the drapery, and
displayed the statue. A tumultuous outburst of applause fol
lowed, the band playing the " Star-Spangled Banner."

The statue is of heroic size, and was modeled by Byron M.
Pickett, and cast at the National Fine- Art Foundery of New
York, by Maurice I. Power. Professor Morse is represented
holding the first message sent over the wires, and devoutly rec
ognizing the truth of its language : " What hath God wrought ! "
Addresses were then delivered by William Cullen Bryant, Esq.,
and by the mayor of the city, A. Oakey Hall, Esq. Prayer was
offered by Eev. Stephen H. Tyng, D. D. The Christian Dox-
ology was sung by the multitude.

In the evening of the same day the Academy of Music was
thronged. The most eminent men of the country participated
in the reception given to the venerable Professor, who was
greeted with applause as he entered and took his seat upon the
platform. Hon. William Orton presided. Rev. Dr. Howard
Crosby, Chancellor of the University, offered prayer. Addresses
were made by Mr. Orton, Dr. George B. Loring, of Salem,
Massachusetts, and Kev. Dr. George W. Samson. At the hour
of 9 P. M., the chairman announced that the telegraphic instru
ment now before him, the original register employed in actual
service, was connected with all the wires of America, and the
touch of the finger on the key would soon vibrate throughout
the continent. Miss Sadie E. Cornwell, who had been selected
to transmit a message, w^as then conducted to her place by Mr.
Applebaugh, and sent the following dispatch, in the midst of
profound silence :

" GREETING AND THANKS TO THE TELEGRAPH FRATERNITY

THROUGHOUT THE LAND. GLORY TO GoD IN THE HIGHEST, ON
EARTH PEACE, GOOD-WILL TO MEN."

At the last click of the instrument, Professor Morse, es
corted by Mr. Orton, approached the table and took his seat.
As his fingers touched the key, tremendous cheers rung through
the house, but were stopped by a gesture from Mr. Orton.
Again impressive silence fell on the house. Slowly the sounder
struck " S. F. B. Morse ; " the Professor's hand fell from the
key, the entire audience rose, and a wild storm of enthusiasm

72() LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

swept through the house, which was continued for some tune,
ladies waving their handkerchiefs, and venerable men cheering
as joyously as the youngest. Professor Morse, visibly affected,
resumed his chair beside the president, and for several moments
pressed his brow with his hands. When the excitement had
subsided, Mr, Orton said : " Thus the Father of the Telegraph
bids farewell to his children."

The current was then switched off to an instrument be
hind the scenes. Quickly along the wires came responses from
Milwaukee, Jacksonville, Montreal, Toronto, Quebec, Chicago,
"Washington, New Orleans, Portsmouth, Louisville, Philadel
phia, Charleston, Ottawa, Ontario, San Francisco, Pittsburg,
Memphis, Cincinnati, Mobile, Halifax, Havana.

Dispatches were received later in the night from the Hong-
Kong Chamber of Commerce, from Bombay, and Singapore.

General "N. P. Banks then made an address, and a poem by
J. H. Watson was recited. Mr. W. H. Pope, the Rev. H. M.
Gallagher, J. K. Walcott, Esq., Mr. J. D. Reid, the chief pro
moter of the whole movement, and the Hon. Charles P. Daly,
made addresses, the latter introducing Professor Morse.

As the venerable Professor arose to respond, the whole au
dience broke into a warm cheer of salutation. His long white
beard falling on his breast,, his erect and graceful form, and his
evident emotion, commanded the admiring sympathy of the au
dience. After a few words of introduction, while struggling
to control his emotions, he said :

" When I consider that he who rules supreme over the ways and
destinies of man often makes use of the feeblest instruments to ac
complish his benevolent purposes to man, as if, by grandest con
trast, to point the mind with more marked effect to him as their au
thor, I cheerfully take my place on the lowest seat at his footstool.
It is his pleasure, however, to work by human instrumentality.
You have chosen to impersonate, in the statue this day erected, the
invention rather than the inventor, and it is of no small significance
that in the attitude so well chosen, and so admirably executed by
the talented young sculptor ^whose work presents him so promi
nently and so favorably before you, he has given permanence to
that pregnant and just sentence which was the first public utter-
ance of the telegraph : < What hath God wrought! '

ADDRESS OF PROFESSOR MORSE. 721

" In the carrying out of any plan of improvement, however
grand or feasible, no single individual could possibly accomplish it
without the aid of others. We are, none of us, so powerful that
we can dispense with the assistance, in various departments of the
work, of those whose experience and knowledge must supply the
needed aid of their expertness. It is not sufficient that a brilliant
project be proposed, that its modes of accomplishment are foreseen
and properly devised ; there are, in every part of the enterprise,
other minds, and other agencies to be consulted for information and
counsel to protect the whole plan. The Chief-Justice, in delivering
the decision of the Supreme Court, says : ' It can make no difference
whether he ' (the inventor) ' derives his information from books or
from conversation with men skilled in the science ' — and l the fact
that Morse sought and obtained the necessary information and
counsel from the best sources, and acted upon it, neither impairs
his rights as an inventor nor detracts from his merits.' The invent
or must seek and employ the skilled mechanician in his workshop,
to put the invention into practical form, and for this purpose some
pecuniary means are required, as well as mechanical skill. Both
these were at hand. Alfred Vail, of Morristown, New Jersey, with
his father and brother, came to the help of the unclothed infant, and
with their funds and mechanical skill put it into a condition cred
itably to appear before the Congress of the nation. To these New
Jersey friends is due the first important aid in the progress of the
invention. Aided, also, by the talent and scientific skill of Pro
fessor Gale, my esteemed colleague in the University, the Tele
graph appeared in Washington in 1838, a suppliant for the means
to demonstrate its power. To the Hon. F. O. J. Smith, then chair
man of the House Committee of Commerce, belongs the credit of a
just appreciation of the new invention, and of a zealous advocacy
of an experimental essay and the inditing of an admirably written
report in its favor, signed by every member of the committee. It
was, nevertheless, thrown aside among the unfinished business of
the session; and now commenced days of trial. Years of delay
were yet before it. It was not till 1842 that it was again submit
ted to Congress. Ferris and Kennedy, and Winthrop and Aycrigg,
McClay and Wood, and many others in the House, far-seeing states
men, rallied to its support, and at length, by a bare majority, the
bill that was necessary was carried through the ordinary forms, and
sent to the Senate, where it met with no opposition, and was passed
the last night of the session.
46

722 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" Now commenced a new series of trials, to which it is unneces
sary here more than to allude.

" To Ezra Cornell, whose noble benefactions to his State and the
country have placed his name by the side of Cooper and Peabody,
high on the roll of public benefactors, is due the credit of early and
effective aid in the superintendence and erection of the first public
line of telegraph ever established.

" Notwithstanding the success of the experimental essay, an
other important step was necessary ere the invention could demon
strate its vast utility. It was not until the skill and experience of
the best Postmaster-General that had ever held that office, the Hon.
Amos Kendall, were brought into requisition, that, amid many dis
couragements, the various companies were organized, and in the
hands of such enterprising men as Sibley, who united the Atlantic
and Pacific, and Swain, and Wade, and a host of determined men,
whose names would read like the pages of a dictionary, this vast
country, from the northern boundaries of Canada to the Gulf of
Mexico, and from the shores of the Atlantic to the Pacific, were
webbed with telegraphic wires." (Applause.)

" Another grand stride was yet to be taken, ere international
communication could be established.

" In October, 1842, the first submarine telegraph cable was laid
by me, one moonlight night, in the harbor of this city, which
proved experimentally the practicability of submarine telegraphy,
and from the result of this success I ventured, the year after, in a
letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, to predict the certainty of
an Atlantic Telegraph. It was then believed to be a visionary
dream ; and, had the individual carrying out of so bold an enter
prise depended upon me alone, it might still have been a dream.
But at this crisis another mind was touched with the necessary en
thusiasm, admirably fitted in every particular, by indomitable ener
gy and perseverance, and foresight, as well as financial skill and in
fluence, to undertake the novel attempt. To Cyrus W. Field, more
than to any other individual, belongs the honor of carrying to com
pletion this great undertaking. Associating with himself Cooper,
and Taylor, and Roberts, and White, and Hunt, and Dudley Field,
and others, on this side of the Atlantic, and, two years later, Pea-
body, and Brett, and Brooking, and Lamson, and Gurney, and Mor
gan, and others, in Great Britain, making the ocean but an insig
nificant ferry by his repeated crossings, undaunted by temporary
failures and unforeseen accidents, he rested not till Britain and

TRIBUTES TO OTHERS. 723

America were united in telegraphic bonds — the Old and the New
world in instantaneous communication." (Cheers.)

" If modern progress in the arts and sciences have given unpre
cedented facilities for the diffusion of the Telegraph throughout the
world, back of all are the former discoveries and inventions of the
scientific minds of Europe and America — Volta, Oersted, Arago,
Schweigger, Gauss and Weber, Steinheil, Faraday, Daniell, and
Grove, and a host of brilliant minds in Europe, with Professors Da
na and Henry, in our own country, in the past, and the more mod
ern discoveries and inventions of Thomson, of Whitehouse, of Cooke,
of Varley, of Glass and Canning, and numerous others. These all,
in a greater or less degree, contributed to the grand result. There
is not a name I have mentioned, and many whom I have not men
tioned, whose career in science or experience in mechanical and en
gineering and nautical tactics, or in financial practice, might not be
the theme of volumes, rather than of brief mention in an ephemeral
address. To-night you have before you a sublime proof of the
grand progress of the Telegraph in its march around the globe.

" It is but a few days since our veritable antipodes became tele
graphically united to us. We can speak to and receive an answer
in a few seconds of time from Hong-Kong, in China, where ten
o'clock to-night here is ten o'clock in the day, and it is perhaps a
debatable question whether their ten o'clock is ten to-day or ten
to-morrow. China and New York are in interlocutory communica
tion. We know the fact, but can imagination realize the fact?
But I must not further trespass on your patience at this late
hour.

" I cannot close without the expression of my cordial thanks to
my long-known, long-tried, and honored friend Reid, whose unwea
ried labors early contributed so effectively to the establishment of
telegraph-lines, and who in a special manner, as chairman of your
Memorial Fund, has so faithfully and successfully and admirably
carried to completion your flattering design.

" To the eminent Governors of this State and the State of Mas
sachusetts, who have given to this demonstration their honored pres
ence ; to my excellent friend the distinguished orator of the day ; to
the Mayor and city authorities of New York ; to the Park Commis
sioners ; to the officers and managers of the various and even rival
telegraph companies, who have so cordially united on this occasion ;
to the numerous citizens, ladies and gentlemen ; and, though last,
not least, to every one of my large and increasing family of tele-

724 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

graph children, who have honored me with the proud title of Father ',
I tender my cordial thanks." (Applause.)

At the close of Professor Morse's address, Kev. Dr. Ormis-
ton offered prayer, and the assembly retired, many seeking the
opportunity to take the Professor by the hand, and to bid him
an affectionate farewell.

CHAPTEE XXI.

LITERARY AND RELIGIOUS LIFE.

A BEADY WEITEK — STUDIES IN HIS DEPAETMENT — ATTTHOK8HIP — LUORETIA
MABIA DAVIDSON — THE SEEENADE — EOMAN CATHOLIC CONTEOVEESY —
FOEEIGN OONSPIEACY — CONFESSIONS OF A PEIEST — GENEEAL LAFAYETTE'S
EEMABK — OTJE LIBEETIES DEFENDED — IMMINENT DANGEES — DEFENSE OF
HIS INVENTION — EELIGIOUS LIFE — ANALYSIS OF HIS CHEISTIAN CHAEAC-

TEE — SKETCH BY EEV. DE. WHEELEE ANTICIPATIONS OF DEATH DEATH

OF HIS BEOTHEE EICHAED — THE THEEE BEOTHEES — THE TOETOISE AND
HAEE — IN HIS LIBEAEY — ASIATIC SOCIETY — EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE —
LITEEAEY AND BENEVOLENT LABOES — DOMESTIC PEACE — THE EVENING
OF LIFE.

PKOFESSOE MOESE held the pen of a ready writer. His
genius, learning, and taste, were illustrated by many and
large contributions to the press. At the foundation of the Na
tional Academy of Design he was compelled to enter the lists
in a controversy that required careful inquiry, extensive reading,
and mature reflection. He acquitted himself well in a dis
cussion with the North American Review, and from that
time onward, notwithstanding his native modesty and timidity,
he did not hesitate to enter the field of debate at the call of
duty. His addresses before the Academy, and his lectures as
Professor of the Arts of Design in the University, are models
of graceful rhetoric and elaborate argument. For these dis
courses he made preparation by patient and exhaustive research
among the best authors of ancient and modern times, making
copious quotations from them into his note-books, and reprodu
cing them with great skill and effect.

The first volume that appeared in his name was a Memoir
with the " Eemains of Lucretia Maria Davidson." She was a
remarkable young lady, who died at Plattsburg, 1ST. Y., in 1825,

726

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. SlORSE.

in the seventeenth year of her age, having displayed an extraor
dinary poetic faculty, and produced many poems of unusual
merit. The Hon. Moss Kent, of Plattsburg, becoming ac
quainted with her wonderful gifts, undertook the office of, patron,
and at his expense she was placed in the Troy. Female Seminary
to pursue a thorough course of study. Her health declined, and
she was laid in an early grave. Mr. Kent placed all her papers
in the hands of Professor Morse, with the request that he would
edit them and prepare a biographical sketch of the young
author. This work he accomplished with fidelity and delicate
sensibility. The volume was published by G. & C. Carvill,
New York, 1827.

One of his relatives, a lady, relates an incident in a visit he
made to her at Utica, 1ST. Y., in the year 1827. He had been
playfully asserting his ability to write poetry as well as to paint
portraits, and she denied his possession of any genius in that
direction. " Give me a subject," he said, "and I will show you
what I can do." It had happened a few nights .previously that
the young lady had been serenaded, but unfortunately she slept
soundly through the whole performance. This had naturally
been the subject of much amusing conversation, and she replied
to his demand for a subject, " Take the serenade." The next
day he produced and read a poem on that theme. A few weeks
afterward, being in New York, he was requested by Gulian C.
Yerplanck, Esq., to make a contribution to " The Talisman," an
annual which Mr. Yerplanck was editing. Mr. Morse submitted
"The Serenade;" Mr. Yerplanck was delighted with it, and
said, " You must make a picture to accompany it." Mr. Morse
then made a picture, which was engraved on steel, and published
in "The Talisman" of 1828, with the poem. For a copy of it
we are indebted to William C. Bryant, Esq., who kindly copied
it with his own hand from " The Talisman," for this volume :

"THE SERENADE.

"Haste! 'tis the stillest hour of night,
The moon sheds down her palest light,
And sleep has chained the lake and hill,
The wood, the plain, the babbling rill;
And where yon ivied lattice shows
My fair one slumbers in repose.

SERENADE, CONTINUED.

Come, ye that know the lovely maid,
And help prepare the serenade.
Hither, hefore the night is flown,
Bring instruments of every tone ;
But lest with noise ye wake, not lull
Her dreaming fancy, ye must cull
Such only as shall soothe the mind
And leave the harshest all behind ;
Bring not the thundering drum, nor yet
The harshly-shrieking clarionet,
Nor screaming hautboy, trumpet shrill,
NOT clanging cymbals j but with skill
Exclude each one that would disturb
The fairy architects, or curb
The wild creations of their mirth ;
All that would wake the soul to earth.
Choose ye the softly-breathing flute,
The mellow horn, the loving lute;
The viol ye must not forget,
And take the sprightly flageolet,
And grave bassoon ; choose, too, the fife,
Whose warblings in the tuneful strife,
Mingling in mystery with the words,
May seem like notes of blithest birds.

* Are ye prepared ? now lightly tread,
As if by elfin minstrels led,
And fling no sound upon the air
Shall rudely wake my slumbering fair.
Softly ! now breathe the symphony —
So gently breathe, the tones may vie
In softness with the magic notes
In visions heard ; music that floats
So buoyant that it well may seem,
With strains ethereal in her dream,
One song of such mysterious birth
She doubts it comes from heaven or earth.
Play on ! my loved one slumbers still.
Play on ! she wakes not with the thrill
Of joy produced by strains so mild ;
But fancy moulds them gay and wild ;
Now, as the music low declines,
'Tis sighing of the forest-pines ;
Or 'tis the fitful, varied roar
Of distant falls, or troubled shore.

723 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Now, as the tone grows full or sharp,
'Tis whispering of the ^Eolian harp ;
The viol swells, now low. now loud,
'Tis spirits chanting on a cloud
That passes by. It dies away ;
So gently dies she scarce can say
'Tis gone ; listens ; 'tis lost, she fears ;
Listens, and thinks again she hears.
As dew-drops mingling in a stream
To her 'tis all one blissful dream —
A song of angels throned in light.
Softly! away! fair one, good-night."

While Mr. Morse was in Italy in the years 1830 and 1831, he
became acquainted with several ecclesiastics of the Church of
Borne, one of whom, a cardinal, made a vigorous attack upon
the faith of the young artist. A correspondence between them
ensued, and frequent interviews. Mr. Morse was led to believe,
from what he learned in Rome, that a political conspiracy, under
the cloak of a religious mission, was formed against the United
States of America. "When he came to Paris in 1832 and en
joyed the confidence and friendship of Lafayette, he stated
his convictions to the General, who fully concurred with him
in the reality of such a conspiracy. Returning to this country
in the autumn of 1832, inventing the Telegraph on his home
ward voyage, he never became so absorbed in his invention as
to forget the impressions made in Italy respecting the danger to
which his country was exposed. The conviction was so strong
that he gave much time in subsequent years to the publication in
periodicals, in pamphlets, and in volumes, of the facts and argu
ments which, in his judgment, were important to a fair under
standing of the subject. In the year 1834 Mr. Morse published
a series of papers, which the year following were issued in a
volume entitled " Foreign Conspiracy against the Liberties of
the United States : revised and corrected, with Notes by the
Author." The motto on the title-page was from Spenser :

" . . . . oft fire is without smoke,
And peril without show."

The papers, as they first appeared, were copied widely, and,
pervading the whole country, made a deep and permanent im
pression. The volume passed through numerous editions, and

RELIGIOUS WORKS." 739

has proved one of the most efficient works that has appeared in
that prolific discussion.

In the year 1837 Professor Morse edited and published, with
an introduction by himself : " Confessions of a French Catholic
Priest, to which are added Warnings to the People of the
United States, by the same Author." This volume bore upon
the title-page the line, "American liberty can be destroyed
only by the popish clergy." — Lafayette. This declaration
was not placed upon the title-page by the editor but by the
author of the book. It was subsequently challenged, and Pro
fessor Morse, though not responsible for the statement, produced
the written testimony of living witnesses, to whom Lafayette
made the remark.

In the year 1841 a series of papers from the pen of Pro
fessor Morse, first published in the Journal of Commerce, was
issued in a small volume, with the title : " Our Liberties de
fended ; the Question discussed ; is the Protestant or Papal
System most favorable to Civil and Religious Liberty? "

In the year 1854: a pamphlet was issued containing a series
of papers which Professor Morse contributed to the Journal of
Commerce in 1835. It was published without his name, under
the title of " Imminent Dangers to the Free Institutions of the
United States through Foreign Immigration, and the Present
State of the Naturalization Laws. By an American."

But these were a very small part of the work that employed
the pen of Professor Morse. From the moment that his Tele
graph became a fact, his time and strength were required to de
fend its birthright. The controversies in which rival claims
involved him demanded as severe study and patient labor as the
original invention. In the newspaper press, in pamphlets, and
in private correspondence, he maintained his position with such
equanimity, ability, and conclusiveness, as commanded the re
spect of his opponents. No one could state the case with more
clearness, arrange the facts in better order, and make the argu
ment more powerful, than the man in whose mind the whole
process had orginally been formed. Had he been endowed with
the gift of oratory, no one could have argued his case before a
court with more effect than Professor Morse himself. Sincere,
transparent, unaffected, modest, he had the confidence of every

730 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

one with whom he conferred, and his presentation of a subject
in his letters and publications carried conviction of his integrity
to every candid reader.

KELIGIOUS LIFE.

Professor Morse was a Christian in his faith and practice.
In his long life, there was probably not an hour when his in
quiring and inventive mind was perplexed with doubts or fears
in regard to religious truth. The system which he embraced
with all his heart, and held with tenacity and affection, was that
which he derived from his father, and which was scarcely modi
fied by his subsequent reading and reflection. He first made a
public profession of religion in Charlestown, Massachusetts, in the
church of which his father was pastor. He was the superintend
ent of its Sabbath-school, one of the first established in this
country. "When the family removed to ISTew Haven, he became
a member of the First Congregational Church of that city. The
death of his wife and of his parents led to his removal, and, hav
ing no fixed residence for many years afterward, he remained in
nominal connection with that church until the year 184^, when
he settled in Poughkeepsie and united with the First Presbyte
rian Church. But, wherever his residence was, even temporary,
he identified himself with the religious community, and in all
the relations of society was known and recognized as a Chris
tian. Those who knew him most intimately, and held com
munion with him in hours of retirement from the conflicts of
the world, knew that he was governed in all his actions by the
fear of God and love of his fellow-men. He had a sense of
being surrounded at all times by the Infinite and Eternal, in
whom he lived and moved and had his being. He received the
Word of God, the sacred Scriptures, as the guide and rule of
his life; believing in their inspiration, and never questioning
their authority. He endeavored to regulate his conduct by the
principles of that "Word, and especially by that golden rule,
which required him to do unto others as he would have others
do unto him. The firmness with which he maintained his rights

i in harmony with these principles. But he often suffered
wrong in silence, and the strength of character natural to him
and the family to which he belonged availed him when exposed

BENEVOLEXCE. 731

to the annoyances, perplexities, and injuries of those who sought
to deprive him of his property and his good name also. No
man was more unjustly assailed by the pen and the tongue of
detraction. Yet, under those circumstances, which oftentimes
bring out the most unhappy traits of human character, he main
tained a composure and calmness, with a forgiving and gentle
spirit, beautiful to contemplate. In crowded thoroughfares, in
the midst of business, when he was immersed in cares, and dis
tracted with anxieties, it was his pleasure and comfort to con
verse upon the subject of personal religion, and with the sim
plicity of a child to confer with a friend on those subjects which
immediately concern the relation of the soul to God. He pre
ferred, above the applause and honors which come from man,
the possession of a meek and quiet spirit.

Nor was the religious life of Professor Morse one merely of
meditation and study. He was active and conscientious in the
use of his property, giving largely, as it increased, to the various
objects of Christian benevolence. Few men have given more
in proportion to their wealth than he did. The first earnings
of the Telegraph he gave to the church, as we have seen. From
this beginning, the commencement of a flow into his hands of
wealth, that afterward placed him above the fears of want, he
continued to give of his abundance as before he had given from
his penury. Colleges and theological seminaries received lib
eral donations. Missionary and other religious charities were
constant recipients of his benefactions. Nor did he confine his
gifts to religious objects only. Art and science were always
regarded by him as proper objects for the use of his money ;
and he sought to encourage in others the development of those
tastes which he had himself pursued with so much benefit to
himself and mankind.

In the later years of Mr. Morse's life, when he was permitted,
in the retirement of his family, to cultivate without interrup
tion those graces which so adorned his character, his religious
life rapidly matured. Those who came within the circle of his
household, and especially those who were received in his study,
found him, when the honors of the world were heaped upon
him and his name had gone into all the earth, a humble Chris
tian, anticipating the glories of the heavenly state. Kev. Dr.

732 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE.

Wheeler, Ills pastor in Poughkeepsie, gives a charming picture
of his religious life :

" It was at Locust. Grove I knew him best and most. Here
among the grand old trees, the fresh, green lawns, and rare plants,
which adorned his grounds, the fashion and substance of the man
were seen. This home he greatly loved. Writing from one of the
capitals in Europe at one time immediately after one of the grand
est receptions that scholar or philosopher had received, he says :
' My heart yearns for my dear old home on the Hudson ; its calm
repose, its sweet walks, where so often I have been with God.' I
recall with great satisfaction the many times on his veranda, look
ing westward upon flood and hills beyond, in large discourse he
would dwell upon the * things unseen,' and his utterances would
have such depth and scope, that I marveled at the beauty and
strength of that love for God and his realm which rose and fell like
mighty tides in his heart.

" Sometimes allusion would be made to his career and the
honors that had thickened upon him ; a significant smile would steal
over his face, and he would gently say : ' It is all of God. He has
used me as his hand in all this. I am not indifferent to the rewards
of earth and the praise of my fellow-men, but I am more pleased
with the fact that my Father in heaven has allowed me to do some
thing for him and his world.' Once he said to me with brimming
eyes, and grasping me with both hands : ' Oh, you cannot tell how
thankful I have been this morning, in thinking this matter of the
Telegraph all over, that God has permitted me to do something for
the help and comfort of my fellows. I have just heard of a family
made happy by a telegraphic dispatch from one of its absent mem
bers, announcing his safety, when the whole household was in grief
over his supposed death; only think of the many homes that may
be thus gladdened, relieved from solicitude and pain!' Thus it
was that he was accustomed to put away all thought of what might
accrue to himself of personal honor and glory from his invention,
in the larger consideration of the good and profit grown there
from to others. Calling upon him one pleasant summer day, the
summer of his earthly life, I found him intent upon micro-
ical observations; leading me to the instrument, he directed my
tention to an insect's wing. < There,' said he, < that is enough of
to satisfy any reasonable mind of God's being, wisdom, and
power. It is in these things we call small, I am finding every day

DR. WHEELER'S SKETCH. 733

fresh proofs that God is in direct and positive agency. I see in
all these things God's finger, and I am so glad through them to get
hold of God's hand ; and then,' he added with tears, ' if God makes
all these small things around us here so exquisitely beautiful, what
grandeur must attach to the things beyond, unseen and eternal ! '

"How refreshing and strengthening the testimony of such a
man, so thoughtful, so well read, and thoroughly practical in scien
tific reasearch as to the being, the presence, and the working of
God, whom many, professing to be wise, have politely bowed out
of his own universe !

" Professor Morse had no sympathy with such men. His whole
being went into protest against them ; their views seemed to him
blasphemous. Through and through from centre to surface, in his
whole make-up, in all the workings of his richly-endowed and versa
tile intellect, he was a religious man. So, from his own thinking, his
own conviction, his own experience, there wras nothing superficial
about him ; no superstition, no binding, controlling force of mere
tradition, suffering others to think for him religiously. He thought
here for himself, and his belief was the outgrowth of clear and well-
defined conviction.

" Soon after his coming to Poughkeepsie for the summer, he
fractured one of his limbs, and was confined for most of the season
to his room. This was a great trial to him, but he bore it with
such resignation, and there ripened upon him during it all such
heavenly excellence, that it was a rare privilege to see him in his
chamber. His window opened upon the broad and majestic Hud
son. As I sat with him one afternoon, looking upon river and hill,
in the changing light of the setting sun, he said :

" ' I have been looking upon the river of my life. I thank God
that it had such beginning ; that upon it has fallen such sunshine,
and I know whom I have believed, and rejoice that so soon this
river will flow out into the broad sea of an everlasting love.'

" His face was pale ; he was strapped upon his bed, but, patient
and gentle in suffering, there came upon him such a transfiguration
of divine love that I almost thought to see him then, with trailing
garments of glory, sweep through the gates of pearl into the city
of the great King. But he did not then go ; he was spared a little
longer to gladden all our hearts, and to leave upon us, if possible,
a still greater impression of the superior sanctity and loveliness of
his life. When at last he did fall asleep, I was not with him, to
my great regret, but others caught the inspiration that fell from his

734 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

lips and shone upon his face, as his Lord led him up from darkness
into light, and breathed upon him the everlasting benediction of his

acceptance.

" I have spoken of him chiefly as a Christian man ; as such, I
knew him best. But in his whole character, and in all his relations,
he was one of the most remarkable men of his age. He was one
who drew all who came in contact with him to his heart, disarming
all prejudices, silencing all cavil. In his family he was light, life,
and love ; with those in his employ, he was ever considerate and
kind, never exacting and harsh, but honorable and just, seeking the
good of every dependant; in the community, he was a pillar of
strength and beauty, commanding the homage of universal respect ;
in the church he walked with God and men. He is not, for God hath
taken him. Blessed for evermore his memory, and blessed those
who saw and knew him, not merely as the man of science and the
Christian philosopher, but as a man of God.

" In bringing this letter to a close, may I mention an incident of
his leaving Locust Grove for the last time ?

" The family had gone on before ; he left last, and with one of
his favorite and trusty servants, in a single and open wagon. As
they passed through the gate-way into the wood, he stopped, and,
rising from his seat, looked fondly back, through the trees, over the
lawn, on the old home, and then, resuming his seat, said, ' Drive
on.' On passing the cemetery he stopped again, and, looking over
; God's acre,' where the dead were so quietly slumbering, he ex
claimed: 'Beautiful! beautiful! bub I shall not lie there. I have
prepared a place elsewhere.'

" So he passed on and was hurried over iron ways to the great
metropolis, where, in the next spring-time, his change was to come."

The absorbing cares of his active and restless life, the hon
ors of the world, and the enjoyments of those rewards which
were so largely his, had not served to hide from his sight the
evidences of advancing age, and the approach of the end of his
earthly career. But this prospect served only to strengthen his
faith and brighten his hopes. "Writing in, 1868 from Dresden,
to his grandson, he says : " The nearer I approach to the end of
mj pilgrimage, the clearer is the evidence of the divine origin
of the Bible, the grandeur and sublimity of God's remedy for
fallen man are more appreciated, and the future is illumined
with hope and joy." ' And in a letter to his brother, dated

DEATH OF R. C. MORSE. 735

Paris, March 4, 1868, he says : " It cannot be long before all
this will be gone. T feel daily the necessity of sitting looser to
the world, and taking stronger hold on heaven. The Saviour
daily seems more precious ; his love, his atonement, his divine
power, are themes which occupy my mind in the wakeful hours
of the night, and change the time of ' watching for the morn
ing ' from irksomeness to joyful communion with him."

In the autumn of that year, his youngest brother, Richard
C. Morse, died in a foreign land. There had been three brothers
of them, the only children who survived the period of infancy —
three brothers bound by the closest fraternal ties, with an affec
tion as rare as beautiful. It is worthy of being written here
that they inherited no property from their venerable father, but
they did assume a load of debts in which he had been involved
by indorsements for friends, and by his own publications. To
the payment of these debts these sons with filial piety, though
under no legal or moral obligation so to do, devoted all their
earnings, until principal and interest were discharged. When
Professor Morse became able to bear his part of this burden, he
cheerfully returned to his brothers what they had many years
before advanced on his account, so that the three brothers shared
equally in the payment of their father's debts. They all lived
to be old men, rejoicing in each other's success, and in sympa
thy when trials and misfortunes overtook them.

A playfulness marked their correspondence and intercourse,
quite unsuspected in the gravity and dignity of their public life.
Between Sidney and the Professor there was always a rivalry
in the race for the goal of SUCCESS. Sidney was slow, medita
tive, and cautious. The Professor was quick, perceptive, and
energetic. Early in life the fable of the tortoise and hare be
came a familiar illustration between them, of their respec
tive traits and habits. Sidney was fond of laughing with his
brother, comparing himself to the tortoise creeping along,
and while the hare, wearied with rapid running, has paused to
rest and fallen asleep, the tortoise passes him and wins the race.
"When the Telegraph was triumphant, and the Professor's suc
cess was assured, he made a drawing, his delight always, of a
hare at the end of a race-course, holding in his forepaws two
telegraph wires extending to a tortoise toiling slowly along ; the

736 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

wires touching him up to quicken his steps and to tell him also
that the hare has won the race !

In one of the letters of Sidney to the Professor, who had
asked his brother if he was expected to pay interest on his por
tion of the debts, Sidney says to him: "If you still think the
hare has won the race, you will pay the interest ; if you think
the tortoise is ahead, you need not pay it." The Professor paid
the interest.

When the sad tidings came across the ocean by telegraph
that the youngest of the brothers had died in Kissingeii, the
Professor wrote to his brother Sidney :

" And so the triple cord is broken, and our dear brother Richard,
the youngest, is the first of us to pass the dark valley. A happy
spirit now, we have not a doubt, with his Saviour and his friends
who have preceded him. It is another call to be also ready. We
shall not be long in following him. I feel stirred to more diligent
improvement of the remnant of life still graciously granted by
infinite love. We must work while it is day, it is far spent, and
the night cometh when no man can work. I feel the blow more
than I supposed it possible.

" And so he is gone. We shall see his kind face no more this
side heaven. Well, it is but a short, a temporary separation. The
world, with all its attractions, I find is losing its hold upon me. I
wish to think more of that world where sin will no more defile, and
sorrow, and the machinations of the wicked, no more annoy."

His time was chiefly spent with his family, or in his library,
surrounded with those books and scientific instruments which
were the delight of his life. The weight of years was now upon
him, but every faculty of his mind and every sense were as
acute and apparently as vigorous as ever. His handwriting
was as beautiful and legible as copperplate engraving. Under
the frontispiece of this volume is a fac-simile of his signature.
Into his study came men of science and letters who sought his
counsel and aid. Philanthropists found in him a friend whose
name and purse were always ready to further any good work.
As president of the Asiatic Society, he corresponded with
officers of Government and men of learning, in the promotion of
its important objects. He was ardently devoted to the cause of

EVENING OF LIFE. 737

religious liberty, and was one of the delegation to Russia, ap
pointed by the Evangelical Alliance to obtain concessions to the
Protestants in the Baltic provinces. His advanced age rendered
it inexpedient for him to make the journey, but, as chairman of
the delegation, he wrote the first draft of the memorial to be
presented to the Czar. In such works of Christian benevolence,
in literary and scientific pursuits, in social and domestic enjoy
ments, the evening of life came on. His children and theirs
were around him — in the summer at Poughkeepsie, in the win
ter in New York — and his home was the abode of contentment
and peace.

47

CHAPTER XXII.

• 1870-1872.

AN OLD PAINTING LETTER TO THE CONVENTION I? ROME — LAST PUBLIC SER-

VIOK UNVEILING THE STATUE OF FRANKLIN — SICKNESS — DEATH — FU
NERAL — MEMORIAL SERVICES IN WASHINGTON — BOSTON — ACTION OF CON
GRESS—LEGISLATURE OF MASSACHUSETTS— TELEGRAPHIC SYMPATHY —
TRIBUTES OF RESPECT SKETCH OF CHARACTER.

T>ROFESSOR MORSE was eighty years old when the statue
JL in his honor was erected in the Central Park. He had
been many years contemplating, without apprehension or regret,
the end of life. His interest in the present and the past was
not diminished hy his contemplations of the future. A pleasant
incident awakened recollections of his earliest art studies. In
Charlestown, his native place, a large painting was found among
the rubbish in the lofts of the City Hall, almost incapable of be
ing distinguished by reason of neglect and decay. The name of
Morse was found on the back of it ; and Hon. G. "Washington
Warren wrote to the Professor asking information respecting it.
A letter was received in reply, which is now preserved in the
records of the Charlestown Board of Aldermen.

" NEW YORK, May 11, 1870.

" MY DEAR SIB : I take pleasure in replying to your queries, in
your favor of yesterday, respecting the painting in the Charlestown
City Hall; The subject is, 'The Landing of the Pilgrims at Ply
mouth.' From the date, February, 1811, you will perceive that it
was painted before I commenced my studies in the art. It was my
earliest effort at painting an historical picture, and can have no par
ticular merit, being the effort of a boy of nineteen. It may have an
historical interest in the fact that it was this painting, and a land-

AN EARLY PICTURE. 739

scape painted about the same time, that decided my father, by the
advice of Stuart and Allston, to permit me to visit Europe with the
latter artist, to study art as a profession. I left with him in July
of the same year, 1811, arriving in England in August; have not
seen this picture since that date ; it was painted in the parsonage,
which was built near the present church, but which has been for
many years removed to another locality. A few years ago I made
a very brief visit to Charlestown with my wife and a daughter, who
were desirous of seeing the house and room in which I was born ; I
then heard that this picture was in the City Hall, and I intended to
visit it, but they felt more interest in the house, so the time I had
at command was devoted to showing them the house in which I
was born, temporarily occupied by my parents, while the parsonage,
now removed, was in process of building. This house is on the
main street, on the north side, a little west of the Unitarian brick
church, and when we visited it it had been occupied by Captain Edes.

I have just entered upon my eightieth year, and can scarcely ex
pect that there are many, if any, of my personal friends and fellow-
townsmen still living ; but I cannot forget the place of my birth,
nor the kind expressions of remembrance by their descendants.
" Respectfully, your ob't servant, SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

" G. WASHINGTON WARREN, Esq., Charlestown, Mass."

The picture is now hung in the mayor's office at Charles-
town, and has peculiar interest from the facts presented in this
letter. In the year 18Y1, the Grand-duke Alexis, son of the
Emperor of Russia, came to the United States, and, during his
visit in the city of New York, Professor Morse assisted largely
in showing attentions to the distinguished guest. It was the
winter following that an important telegraphic convention
was held in the city of Rome, which Professor Morse could not
attend. Anxious always to make the Telegraph an instrument
of good, and with a heart burning with desires for peace on
earth, and good-will among men, he wrote to Cyrus W. Field,
Esq., at Rome, a letter which was read to the convention. At its
conclusion the convention broke out in prolonged cheers for
the illustrious author, and the letter was ordered to be printed
among the records of the convention. It is in these words,
and is worthy of being preserved as one of the last public com
munications from the hand of the inventor of the Telegraph.

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

YORK, December 4, 1871.

" MY DEAR MB. FIELD : Excuse my delay in writing you. The
excitement occasioned by the visit of the Grand-duke Alexis has
just closed, and I have been wholly engaged by the various duties
connected with his presence.

"I have wished for a few calm moments to put on paper some
thoughts respecting the doings of the great Telegraphic Conven
tion to which you are a delegate.

" The Telegraph has now assumed such a marvelous position in
human affairs throughout the world ; its influences are so great and
important in all the varied concerns of nations, that its efficient pro
tection from injury has become a necessity. It is a powerful ad
vocate for universal peace. Not that of itself it can command a
' Peace, be still ! ' to the 'angry waves o'f human passions, but that
by its rapid interchange of thought and opinion it gives the oppor
tunity of explanations to acts and laws which in their ordinary
wording often create doubt and suspicion.

" Were there no means of quick explanation, it is readily seen
that doubt and suspicion, working on the susceptibilities of the pub
lic mind, would engender misconception, hatred, and strife. How
important, then, that in the intercourse of nations there should be
the ready means at hand for prompt correction and explanation !

" Could there not be passed, in the great International Conven
tion, some resolution to the effect that, in whatever condition, whether
of peace or war between nations, the telegraph should be deemed
a sacred thing, to be by common consent effectually protected both
on land and beneath the waters ?

" In the interest of human happiness, of that * peace on earth '
which, in announcing the advent of the Saviour, the angels pro
claimed, with ' good-will to men,' I hope that the convention will
not^ adjourn without adopting a resolution asking of the nations
their united effective protection to this great agent of civilization.

" The mode and the terms of such resolution may be safely left
to the intelligent members of the honorable and distinguished con
vention. Believe me, as ever, your friend and servant,

"SAMUEL F. B. MOESE.
Hon. CYRUS W. FIELD, Rome, Italy."

A few days after this letter was written, his brother Sid-
iey, his only surviving brother, his counselor, comforter, and
more than friend, was smitten with apoplexy, and, after lying

STATUE OF FRANKLIN. 741

unconscious for several days, expired. This was a sad blow
to the aged survivor, the eldest of the three, and outlasting
them all. The writer of this sat on one side of the bed, on the
other the venerable Professor, and between us lay the dying
man. The Professor spoke In the ear of his brother, but there
was no evidence that he was heard. He felt that he was indeed
alone when his last brother was gone. His friends thought
and said he would not long remain behind. He had been
subject to neuralgia, and now the attacks became more fre
quent and more severe.

The last time that he appeared in public was on the occasion
of the inauguration of the statue of Benjamin Franklin in Print
ing-House Square, in front of the City Hall, January 17, 1872.
It was happily conceived by the committee of arrangements
that there would be a singular fitness in asking MOUSE to unveil
to the world a statue of FKANKLIN. Those names, identified
with electricity, are to be always associated. The Professor
was now in feeble health, and the excitement and exposure of
the occasion would be dangerous. But his desire to be present
and to perform the service assigned was so great that he said he
felt it to be his duty to go, if it were the last public act that he
should perform. It proved to be a very cold day. Accompanied
by his family, he rode in his carriage to the square, was received
by the committee, and escorted to the platform in the open air,
by the side of the veiled statue. An immense multitude cheered
him as he ascended the steps, and stood uncovered in the midst
of them. When the introductory exercises had been performed
he drew the cord that removed the covering, and the statue of
Franklin and the form of Morse himself stood side by side.
Tens of thousands of voices shouted applause. When silence
was restored, the vast assembly listened to catch his words, as
with tremulous voice he said :

" ME. DE GEOOT AND FELLOW-CITIZENS : I esteem it one of my
highest honors that I should have been designated to perform the
office of unveiling this day the fine statue of our illustrious and im
mortal Franklin. When requested to accept this duty I was con
fined to my bed, but I could not refuse, and I said, ' Yes, if I have to
be lifted to the spot ! ' Franklin needs no eulogy from me. No one
has more reason to venerate his name than myself. May his illus-

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

trious example of devotion to the interest of universal humanity be
the seed of further fruit for the good of the world ! "

DEATH.

The last public act of his life was this participation in the
ceremony of inaugurating the statue of Benjamin Franklin.
His failing health compelled him to decline the invitation to
the banquet in the evening, where his name was repeatedly
mentioned with that of the old philosopher, and received with
the warmest applause. He went home to die. Neuralgia con
centrated its attacks in his head, and he walked the floor in
agony, holding both hands to his temples, and groaning with
excessive pain. Day after day, and weeks, succeeded, while he
gradually succumbed to the disease. To the Kev. Dr. Adams,
on whose ministry he attended in the city, he expressed unwa
vering faith, and, in response to a remark concerning the good
ness of God to him in the past, he said, with cheerful hope,
" The best is yet to come."

The pain in his head, that had nearly distracted him, now
ceased, and stupor ensued. His had been a teeming, busy, un
clouded brain, for more than eighty years. Sickness had rarely
laid its hand upon him. Trouble, trials, anxieties, disappoint
ments, bereavements, carking cares, bitter persecutions, extreme
poverty, the birth-pangs of a great invention, toil, discourage
ment, success, triumph, lawsuits, losses, gains, wealth, luxury,
honors, fame, the homage of republics, kingdoms, and empires,
laid at his feet — through all these vicissitudes of fortune he had
passed, beyond the experience, perhaps, of any private citizen.
Through fourscore years he had borne and worn them all, with
the grace of a Christian, the calmness of a philosopher, and the
simplicity of a child. Conscious of the rectitude of his own pur
poses and action, charitable toward all, and especially to his ene
mies, he had been calm when others were excited, and so the
vexations that wear out the life of most men failed to shorten
his days. But now the end was near. To him, the father of
the Telegraph, the last message had come. It was not a sudden
summons. He had been always ready, and had often wished
that it might not be delayed. And when it. came it found him
waiting. Peacefully he was sinking into the arms of death.

DYING HOURS. 743

For some days he was scarcely conscious of surrounding persons,
save of his fond wife, on whom he turned his mild blue eyes,
with looks of love he could not speak. The birthday of his
youngest child arrived ; and, to the surprise of all, he recalled
it, placed his hands upon his son's head, and caressed him ten
derly. A picture made by his niece, as a present to the boy,
was produced, and, rousing himself, he asked for his spectacles,
put them on, examined the drawing, and pronounced it admira
ble. So the first passion of his life was almost his last emotion.
In childhood he began to draw. He never loved any thing so
much as his chosen art. And now, forgetting the honors and
rewards of the great invention that had made his name immor
tal, the expiring man revives at the sight of a little drawing, and,
remembering his own work when a boy, gives his dying words
to its praise !

Yet once more is the thought of the Telegraph revived !
The attending physicians were inspecting his lungs, and one of
them, tapping upon his chest to learn their condition, said to
him, pleasantly, " This is the way we doctors telegraph."

" VERY GOOD," said the dying man, and never spoke again.

The intelligence that Professor Morse was dying touched the
heart of the nation. It was announced wherever his electric
wires were stretched — over the country, under the ocean, and to
the ends of the world. Bulletins were issued from hour to hour,
to meet the anxious inquiries of the people. Every hour of the
night, as well as of the day, reporters of the press sought to
know his condition. His door was besieged by friends testify
ing their sympathy. Those he loved were around him with
ministries of love. When far past the power of speech, he put
up his lips to his loving wife for one more kiss. Holy men
commended his departing spirit to Him whom unseen he adored.
Tears of affection fell like rain upon his bed. Beauty, serene
and majestic, clothed his countenance and lighted his eyes. The
image of the heavenly was revealed. His peace was like a river.
Not a cloud, not a fear, no care, no want, disturbed the calmness
of his passing soul.

He had reached and enjoyed his loftiest and last ambition.
Around him were gathered all that art and taste and wealth and
love contribute to the delight of men. Office and power he had

74i LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

never wished, but he had sought fame and wealth and honor ;
and, when gained, he had gladly used them for truth and virtue
and philanthropy, counting all he had and was but means of
usefulness for the sake of Him in whom he lived.

A long, eventful, brilliant career was closing. The light was
going out of those eyes that had so long been bright with the
fire of genius and the softer rays of love. The fingers that
guided the lightning through the seas had lost their cunning.
The brain in which was born the grandest of all conceptions
ever made real by the art of man — to annihilate time and space
in human intercourse, and bring the ends of the earth into in
stant union — and that throbbed with conscious triumph when
the work was done, was resting now. The heart that never har
bored an unkind feeling toward a human being, that always
warmed with tender affection for the suffering — that kind, gen
tle, loving heart, in which wife and children nestled and were
blest ; where every virtue that gilds human life had its source,
and out of which flowed streams of kindness, to gladden home,
the social circle, and the world — that great, good heart now
ceased to beat.

He died April 2, 1872.

POSTHUMOUS HONORS.

The Legislature of the State of New York being in session
at the time, the Governor, Hon. John T. Hoffman, sent to thai
body the following communication, April 3d :

" The Telegraph to-day announces the death of its inventor,
Samuel F. B. Morse. Born in Massachusetts, his home has for
many years of his eventful life been in New York. His fame be
longs to neither, but to the country and the world ; yet it seems
fitting that this great State, in which he lived and died, should be
the first to pay appropriate honors to his memory. Living, he re
ceived from governments everywhere more public honors than were
ver paid to any American private citizen; dead, let all the people
7 homage to his name. I respectfully recommend to the Legisla-
the adoption of such resolutions as may be suitable, and the
appointment of a joint committee to attend the funeral of the illus
trious deceased. JOHN T HoFFMA]sr »

THE FUNERAL. 745

In both Houses appropriate resolutions were adopted and a
joint committee was appointed to attend the funeral. The
funeral services were held Friday, April 5th, at Madison-Square
Presbyterian Church, New York. At eleven o'clock the pro
cession entered the church in the following order :

Rev. WM. ADAMS, D. D. ; Rev. FRANCIS B. WHEELER, D. D.

Corpse.

Pall-bearers :

WILLIAM ORTON, CYRUS W. FIELD,

DANIEL HUNTINGTON, CHARLES BUTLER,

PETER COOPER, JOHN A. Dix,

CAMBRIDGE LIVINGSTON, EZRA CORNELL.

The Family.

Governor HOFFMAN and Staff.
Members of the Legislature.
Directors of the New York, Newfoundland, and

London Telegraph Company.
Directors of the Western Union Telegraph Company,

and officers and operators.

Members of the Academy of Design.

Members of the Evangelical Alliance.

Members of the Chamber of Commerce.

Members of the Association for the Advancement of Science

and Art.

Members of the New York Stock Exchange.

Delegations from the Common Councils of New York,

Brooklyn, and Poughkeepsie, and many of the

Yale Alumni.

The Legislative Committee : Messrs. James W. Husted,

L. Bradford Prince, James C. Osgood, Samuel J. Tilden, Severn

D. Moulton, and John Simpson.

After preliminary devotional services the funeral address
was delivered by Dr. Adams. This oration was one of great
eloquence and beauty, reciting the history of the illustrious
dead, and giving the appropriate lessons drawn from his re
markable career. In its conclusion Dr. Adams said :

" To-day we part forever with all that is mortal of that man who
has done so much in the cause of Christian civilization. Less than

746

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

one year ago his fellow-citizens, chiefly telegraphic operators, who
loved him as children love a father, raised his statue of bronze in
Central Park. To-day all we can give him is a grave. That vener
able form, that face so saintly in its purity and refinement, we shall
see no more. How much we shall miss him in our homes, our
churches, in public gatherings, in the streets, and in society which
he adorned and blessed ! But his life has been so useful, so happy,
and so complete, that for him nothing remains to be wished. Con
gratulate the man who, leaving to his family, friends, and country,
a name spotless, untarnished, beloved of nations, to be repeated in
foreign tongues, and by sparkling seas, has died in the bright and
blessed hope of everlasting life.

" Farewell, beloved friend, honored citizen, public benefactor,
good and faithful servant ! While thy eulogy shall be pronounced
in many languages by thy fellow-men, this, I believe, was your own
highest aspiration — to have your name, as an humble disciple, written
in the Lamb's Book of Life. There it will shine, and ours also,
even the humblest of us all, if united to Christ, above the bright
ness of the firmament and as the stars forever and ever. A small
thing is it to be judged of man's judgment ; and all the greatness and
glory of this world pass away like a dream. ' God accepteth not
the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor ;
for they all are the work of his hands.' Truly great and immortal is
that man, however obscure his earthly lot, who so believes in Jesus
Christ that he may appropriate to himself the words of the Lord
of Life, * Because I live, ye shall live also.'

" The three grandest objects which ever can occupy the mind
of man are the Divine Redeemer, the human soul, the day of death
and judgment. Blessed is that man, and so will he be when all the
thrones, monuments, and eulogies of the world are forgotten, who
so lives that he shall be able to combine the three and say, as did
this true Christian in his last articulation, ' I know whom I have
believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I
have committed to him against that day.' "

Prayer was then offered by the Rev. Dr. Wheeler, and the
hymn " Just as I am " was chanted by the choir. The remains
were taken to Greenwood Cemetery and deposited in the receiv
ing-vault. The burial service was read and prayer offered by
the Rev. J. Aspinwall Hodge, pastor of the Presbyterian Church
of Hartford, and son-in-law of Richard C. Morse.

UNIVERSAL SORROW. 747

The President of the Western Union Telegraph Company
issued the following message :

"NEW YORK, April 4, 1872.

" To all Telegraph /Superintendents and Managers in the United
States and Canada : All that is mortal of the venerable and vener
ated father of the American Telegraph system, Professor Samuel F.
B. Morse, will be consigned to the grave on Friday, April 5th. No
expression of outward exhibition can give fitting evidence of the
sorrow which his death has occasioned among those connected with
the Telegraph, or within the reach of its influence, not only in Amer
ica, but throughout the world ; but, in token of respect to his memory,
some symbol of mourning should be exhibited at all telegraph-sta
tions on the day of burial ; a simple rosette, or a bit of crape, will suf
fice. WILLIAM OKTON, President."

The Common Council of the city of New York, the National
Academy of Design, the New York Stock Exchange, the New
York Chamber of Commerce, and the various scientific, philan
thropic, and religious institutions with which he had been asso
ciated, adopted resolutions of respect for his memory. In other
cities and countries similar tributes were paid. The telegraph-
poles in many places were hung with mourning, and the bells
were tolled.

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.

In the House of Representatives, Hon. S. S. Cox offered a
concurrent resolution, declaring that Congress has heard " with
profound regret of the death of Professor Morse, whose distin
guished and varied abilities have contributed more than those of
any other person to the development and progress of the prac
tical arts, and that his purity of private life, his loftiness of scien
tific aims, and his resolute faith in truth, render it highly proper
that the Representatives and Senators should solemnly testify to
his worth and greatness." This resolution was unanimously
agreed to.

Mr. Fernando "Wood, of New York City, gave a brief history
of the legislation under which Professor Morse's invention was
practically tested in this country. The speaker was a member
of the Twenty-seventh Congress, to which Professor Morse ap
plied for aid to test his invention. And he expressed the great
pride with which he (Mr. Wood) found his name recorded in the

74g LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE.

affirmative, and lie was to-day the only living member of either
House who voted in favor of the bill.

In the Senate, on motion of Hon. J. W. Patterson, of New
Hampshire, a similar resolution was adopted. A committee, ap
pointed by both Houses, was charged with making arrangements
for a suitable service in memory of Morse. The Morse Memo
rial Association of the city of "Washington combined with this
committee, and preparations were made for a solemn service in
the hall of the House. This was held April 16th.

A crowded audience attended. The Speaker of the House,
Mr. Elaine, presided, assisted by Yice-President Colfax. The
President and Cabinet, Judges of the Supreme Court, together
with the Governors of the States, in person or by proxy, occupied
seats on the inner semicircle. Senators and Representatives oc
cupied the other seats on the floor. In front of the main gallery
was an oil-painting of Professor Morse, and around tbe outer
frame of the portrait was the legend " What hath God wrought ! "
The ceremonies were opened with prayer by the Rev. Dr.
Adams, of New York, when Speaker Elaine said :

" Less than thirty years ago, a man of genius and learning was
an earnest petitioner before Congress for a small pecuniary aid, that
enabled him to test certain occult theories of science which he had
laboriously evolved. To-night the representatives of forty million
people assemble in their legislative hall to do homage and honor to
the name of ' Morse.' Great discoverers and inventors rarely live to
witness the full development and perfection of their mighty concep
tions, but to him whose death we now mourn, and whose fame we
celebrate, it was in God's good providence vouchsafed otherwise.
The little thread of wire placed as a timid experiment between the
national capital and a neighboring city, grew and lengthened, and
multiplied with almost the rapidity of the electric current that
darted along its iron nerves, until, within his own lifetime, conti
nent was bound unto continent, hemisphere answered through ocean's
depths unto hemisphere, and an encircled globe flashed forth his
eulogy in the unmatched elements of a grand achievement. Charged
by the House of Representatives with the agreeable and honorable
duty of presiding here, and of announcing the various participants
in the exercises of the evening, I welcome to this hall those who
join with us in this expressive tribute to the memory and to the
merit of a great man."

SERVICES IN THE CAPITOL. 749

The exercises were then conducted in the following order :

Resolutions by Hon. C. C. Cox, M. D., of Washington, D. C.

Address by Hon. J. W. PATTERSON, of New Hampshire.

Address by Hon. FERNANDO WOOD, of New York.

Vocal Music by the Choral Society of Washington.

Address by Hon. J. A. GAKFIELD, of Ohio.

Address by Hon. S. S. Cox, of New York.

Address by Hon. D. W. VOOEHES, of Indiana.

Address by Hon. N. P. BANKS, of Massachusetts.

Vocal Music by the Choral Society of Washington.

Benediction by the Rev. Dr. WHEELER, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y.

Telegraphic messages came in and were read by Cyrus W.
Field, Esq., sent the same day from Europe, Asia, and Africa,
to America, paying funeral tributes to the memory of the man
whose genius and skill had brought these four quarters of the
globe into daily intercourse ! From the British Provinces on the
North, from California, and the farthest South and East, similar
messages came, so that the whole civilized world was actually
represented, and in spirit was present, at these memorial services
in the Capitol at Washington.

On the same evening with the meeting in the Capitol, me
morial meetings were held in various parts of the United States.
The lines of telegraph were used freely for direct communication
between them, and, the progress of the several meetings being
reported to all, they were in perfect sympathy. The idea was
novel, and happily carried out.

Massachusetts, the native State of Professor Morse, paid
him distinguished honors. Its Legislature adopted the follow
ing resolutions :

" JResolved, That the Legislature of Massachusetts has learned,
with profound regret, of the decease of Samuel Finley Breese
Morse, the distinguished inventor of that wonderful system of elec
tric telegraphy which is conferring unspeakable blessings upon the
whole human family.

" ^Resolved, That, born upon our soil, and under the very shadow
of this capitol, his name will ever be associated by the people of
this State with that of another of her illustrious sons, who demon
strated to the world the existence of that mighty but subtile agency

750

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE.

which the genius and skill of his peer and successor has brought
under subjection and made subservient to the will of man.

" Resolved, That with the regrets his death has occasioned are
mingled emotions of joy and gratitude that he was permitted, by
Him in whose hands are the issues of life and death, to attain to
the full age allotted to man upon earth, and that he was thereby
enabled to witness the complete triumph of the work to which his
life was consecrated — a privilege which has seldom been enjoyed by
the world's greatest benefactors.

" Resolved, That his Excellency the Governor be requested to
transmit a copy of these resolutions to the family of the deceased,
with the assurance of the spmpathy of the people of this Common
wealth in the loss they have sustained."

A memorial meeting was held in Faneuil Hall, Boston, at
which the mayor of the city presided, supported by Josiah
Quincy, G. S. Hillard, and others. Addresses were deliverd by
Professor E. K Horsford, Hon. E. H. Dana, Hon. G. S. Hil-
lard, and S. P. Whipple, Esq. ; and appropriate resolutions were
adopted.

In every part of his own country, and in many foreign
lands, testimonials of respect and gratitude were offered to his
memory — such and so many as were never before laid upon the
grave of a man who never held a public office among his fellow-
men.

REVIEW OF HIS CHARACTER.

It is not given to mortals to leave a perfect example for the
admiration and imitation of posterity. But it is safe to say that
the life and character of few men whose history is left on record
afford less opportunity for criticisim than is found in the con
spicuous career of the inventor of the Telegraph.

Haying followed him step by step from his birth to the
grave, in public, social, and private relations, in struggles with
poverty, enemies, and wrongs; in courts of law, the press, and
halls of science ; having seen him tempted, assailed, defeated,
and again in victory, honor, and renown ; having read thousands
E his private letters, his essays, and pamphlets, and volumes in
whichhis claims are canvassed, his merits discussed, and his char
acter reviewed ; having had access to his most private papers

TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 751

and confidential correspondence, in which all that is most secret
and sacred in the life of man is hid — it is right to say that in
this mass of testimony by friends and foes there is not a line
that requires to be erased or changed to preserve the lustre of
his name.

Such is the natural result of those influences which formed
and developed his character. Intellectual strength and inflexible
integrity were traits that distinguished his ancestry. Virtue
and usefulness made the atmosphere of his father's house.
There he became familiar with the names and works of illus
trious men, in his own and other lands ; and to be like them
was the aspiration of his young ambition. He studied Plu
tarch's lives of great men when he was a boy, and drew
their protraits with his pen almost as soon as he could write.
And in his young mind was a sentiment that Plutarch did not
teach — the sense of personal responsibility to the Infinite Crea
tor. Him he acknowledged as the source and end of his being.
This became a passion, absorbing his thoughts, infusing into his
life a secret power to will and to do. In reverential moments,
contemplating the extent and results of the great invention con
ceived in the recesses of his own mind, he felt, deeply and
sincerely, that it was not of himself, but of God. Hence he was
always under a sense of personal obligation to use this power for
the good of his fellow-men.

Subject to the infirmities of a delicate constitution, often
sunk in the depths of despondency, afflicted with nervous dis
orders that were attended with great physical suffering, and
harassed through all his life by vexations disappointments, re
verses, and wrongs, his heroic faith in God alone held him up
and made him victorious.

It was the device and purpose of those who sought to rob
him of his honors and his rights to depreciate his intellectual
ability and his scientific attainments. But among all the men
of science, and of the men of learning in the law, there was not
one who was a match for him when he gave his mind to a sub
ject which required his perfect mastery. His favorite study, in
college and afterward, was electricity. And when, in 1827, the
powers of electro-magnetism were revealed to him, he compre
hended its relations and capabilities, and at the proper time ap-

752 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

plied them with the skill and precision of an expert. He drew
up the brief, with his own hand, for one of the distinguished
counsel, in a great lawsuit involving his patent rights, and his
lawyer said it was the argument that carried conviction to every
unprejudiced mind. Such was the versatility and variety of
his mental endowments that he would have been great in any
department of human pursuits. His wonderful rapidity of
thought was associated with patient, plodding perseverance, a
combination rare, but mightily effective. He leaped to a pos
sible conclusion, and then slowly developed the successive steps
by which the end was gained and the result made secure. He
covered thousands of pages with his pencil-notes, annotated large
and numerous volumes, filled huge folios with valuable excerpts
from newspapers, illustrated processes of thought with diagrams,
and was thus fortified and enriched with stores of knowledge
and masses of facts, so digested, combined, and arranged, that he
had them at his easy command to defend the past, or to help
him onward to fresh conquests in the fields of truth. Yet such
was his modesty and reticence in regard to himself that none
outside of his household were aware of his resources, and his
attainments were only known when displayed in self-defense.
Then they never failed to be ample for the occasion, as every
opponent had reason to remember.

Yet he was as gentle as he was great. Many thought him
weak, because he was simple, childlike, and unworldly. Often
he suffered wrong rather than resist, and this disposition to yield
was frequently his loss. The firmness, tenacity, and persever
ance, with which he fought his foes, were the fruits of his integ
rity, principle, and profound convictions of right and duty. His
nature was tender, loving, and kind. Home, and wife, and chil
dren, were his joys. In the midst of foreign triumphs and fiercest
conflicts, his heart turned fondly to the banks of the river where
his loved ones waited his return.

" More than a quarter of a century," said Mr. Mason, the
American Ambassador at the court of France in 1858, « I have
had the honor to call Professor Morse my friend, and I venture
to say that no man ever lived who more eminently deserved to
be pronounced—

4 Integer vitae, seelerisque purns ' "

(A man of blameless life and pure).

PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 753

Indeed, he deserves it, more surely than he on whom Horace
pronounced the high eulogium, for Professor Morse is a Chris
tian gentleman."

Leonardo da Yinci was an artist, a painter ; and his achieve
ments with the brush are the monuments that preserve his name.
But he was also an engineer, a mechanician, a philanthropist,
and a statesman. He was great in all that he attempted. A
man of marvelous industry, patience, and perseverance, he de
vised and directed schemes for the good of his country and the
benefit of his fellow-men. Morse was endowed with similar
powers, and inspired with the same purposes. He was a paint
er, an artist ; and he was also an artisan, an inventor ; a mech
anician, working in brass with his own hands ; an author, writ
ing with masterly ability, measuring his strength and learning
with the ablest lawyers, the profoundest theologians, and emi
nent statesmen, maintaining himself with complete success on
all occasions. Leonardo is remembered by his works of art.
Morse, as a painter, is lost in his renown as an inventor and
benefactor of his race.

In person, Professor Morse was tall, slender, graceful, and at
tractive. Six feet in stature, he stood erect and firm, even in
old age. His blue eyes were expressive of genius and affection.
His nature was a rare combination of solid intellect and delicate
sensibility. Thoughtful, sober, and quiet, he readily entered
into the enjoyments of domestic and social life, indulging in sal
lies of humor, and readily appreciating and greatly enjoying the
wit of others. Dignified in his intercourse with men, courteous
and affable with the gentler sex, he was a good husband, a judi
cious father, a generous and faithful friend. He had the mis
fortune to incur the hostility of men who would deprive him
of the merit and the reward of his labors. But this is the com
mon fate of great inventors. He lived until his rights were
vindicated by every tribunal to which they could be referred,
and acknowledged by all civilized nations. And he died leav
ing to his children a spotless and illustrious name, and to his
country the honor of having given birth to the only Electro-
Magnetic Eecording Telegraph whose line is gone out through
all the earth, and its words to the end of the world.
48

APPE JST D IX.

[EXTRACTS FROM A PAMPHLET PREPARED AND PUBLISHED IN PARIS, 186T.]
BY SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

IN" the month of October, 1832, I left France for the United States in the
packet-ship Sully. Early in the voyage, in the course of conversations
in the cabin, some of the facts in relation to electricity, familiar to me from
my college-days, were casually brought to my recollection in describing
the then recent discovery of the means of obtaining the electric spark from
the magnet, a discovery which demonstrated the intimate relations of mag
netism and electricity. The fact that electricity passed with such rapidity
through a space of many miles was alluded to, in which Franklin's opinion
of the instantaneity of the passage of electricity was brought to notice.
This led me to remark that, "if that were so, and the presence of electri
city could be made visible in any desired part of the circuit, I see no rea
son why intelligence might not be transmitted instantaneously by electri
city." This was the crude seed which at once took root, and with the
favoring leisure of a long voyage, and a mind unoccupied with other
studies, grew into form, absorbing my thoughts in the sleepless hours of
the night, and turning the tedium of the voyage into an agreeable pastime.
Before the end of the voyage the invention had the following attributes.

I may observe, in passing, that my aim at the outset was simplicity of
means as well as result. Hence I devised a single circuit of conductors
from some generator of electricity. I planned a system of signs consisting
of dots or points, and spaces to represent numerals; and two modes of
causing the electricity to mark or imprint these signs upon a strip or ribbon
of paper. One was by chemical decomposition of a salt which should dis
color the paper ; the other was by the mechanical action of the electro
magnet, operating upon the paper by a lever charged at one extremity with
a pen or pencil. I conceived the plan of moving the paper ribbon at a
regular rate by means of clock-work machinery to receive the signs. These
processes, as well as the mathematically - calculated signs, devised for
and adapted to recording, were sketched in my sketch-book. I also drew
in my sketch-book modes of interring the conductors in tubes in the earth,
and, soon after landing, planned and drew out the method upon posts. This

APPENDIX.

755

I

was the general condition of the invention (with the exception of the plan
upon posts) when I arrived in New York, on the 15th of November, 1832.

Among the original charac
teristics of the invention as de
vised on board the ship, one of the
most important was the mathe
matically-calculated signs adapt
ed to recording. As these signs
have ever since played a most
important part in the modern
telegraphs, they would seem to
demand here a more distinct no- son
tice of their origin. <

In reflecting on the operations
of electricity as a proposed agent
in telegraphy, I was aware that
its presence in a conductor of mod
erate length could be indicated in
several ways. The physical effects
in a shock ; the visible spark ; visi
ble bubbles during decomposition,
and marks left from decomposi
tion; its magnetic effects upon
soft iron and steel ; and its calo
rific effects — these were all well-
known phenomena. Could any
of these be made available for
recording, and at a great distance ?
This was the important problem
to be solved. Electricity had
been flashed many miles through
a conductor, apparently instanta
neously, and produced some of
these effects at a distance. May
not all of them, likewise, be pro
duced at a distance ? If so, which
of them seemed to promise the
surest result of a permanent rec
ord f Static electricity, as an
agent, was first proposed, but
was quickly dismissed as too un
controllable, and I directed my
attention exclusively to the phe
nomena of dynamic electricity.
The decomposition of a salt hav
ing a metallic basis would leave a mark upon paper or cloth— but what salt?
Some would probably answer the purpose. Assuming, therefore, that such

756

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

a salt could be found, how was it to be used? If a strip of paper or cloth
were moistened with the salt, and were then simply put in contact with a
conductor charged with electricity, would there be any effect upon the
paper ? A magnetic effect is produced exterior to the charged conductor ;
is there any salt or substance so sensitive as to be affected either by decom
position, or in any other way, by this magnetic influence, by simple, contact
with an electrically-charged wire? It was doubtful, but worth an experiment.

But, 'if such effect were verified by experiment, it was conceived that
marks like those in the diagram (1) might be made across the moistened
paper, as it passed beneath and in contact with the conjunctive wire A B,
when the wire was electrically charged and discharged.

It is needless to add that on trial no such effect was produced by the
magnetic properties of an electrically-charged wire upon any salt that I after
ward submitted to the experiment. Nevertheless, it is perceived that, had
this device (which was noted down for testing) been verified, the simplest
of all modes of recording would have been the result.

The nearest approach to this simplicity seemed to be the passing of the
chemically-prepared paper between the two broken parts of a circuit so
that the electricity should pass through the moistened paper or cloth ; this
would mark a point or dot when the circuit was closed, and by rapid clos
ing and opening of the circuit, while the paper was moved regularly for
ward, points or dots, in any required groups, could be made at will. But
what salt would best produce this result was to be determined after reach
ing the end of the voyage. In the mean time, as I originally proposed to
record numerals only, intending to indicate words and sentences by numbers,
it was a desideratum to arrange the ten digits to be represented by dots or
points within as small a space as possible. The first and most obvious mode
seemed to be the following:

123456 f 8 9 10

But a few minutes' reflection showed that after Jive dots or points the num
ber of dots became inconveniently numerous in indicating the larger digits ;
hence it occurred to me that, by extending the spaces appropriated to the
five larger digits, giving them a greater space value than was possessed by
the five smaller digits, I might reduce the number of dots, necessary to in
dicate any of the ten digits, within five dots. On this principle, therefore, I
constructed the following signs for the ten numerals, and devised the TYPES
for regulating the opening and closing of an electric circuit. (See Diagram 2.*)
On inspecting the diagram (2) it will be perceived that the types were
to be divided into definite parts.

Type 1 contains 4 parts, and appropriates 1 part to its cog, and 3 to its space.
I „ 3 parts to its cog, and 3

5 parts to its cog, and 3 "
7 parts to its cog, and 3

9 parts to its cog, and 3 "

1 part to its cog, and 5 "

0 . M . ° 3 parts to its cog, and 5 "

„ ft 5 parts to its cog, and 5

1 M \l 7 parts to its cog, and 5

9 parts to its cog, and 5 "

APPENDIX.

757

Each of the first five digits, therefore, is indicated by a space of three
parts, and

Each of the last five digits is indicated by a space of five parts.

"y

r'-

~

75g LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

The space type for separating completed numbers, whether single or
compounded, contains six parts.

The length of the spaces, therefore, was an element to be used in deter
mining the difference between the class of the first five digits and the class
of the last five digits, and not simply the number of dots or points.
Whether one dot was to be read as numeral 1 or as numeral 6 was to be de
termined by the length of the space after it, and, for the purpose of measur
ing this space in the last numeral of a dispatch, the single dot or point was
'to be used as a supernumerary finale to every dispatch.

A space of the length of nine or more parts, after a dot or group of dots,
indicates the dot or group of dots to be a complete number, whether single
or compounded.

A space less than the length of the nine parts, after a dot or group of
dots, indicates that they are a portion of a compounded number.

An example will illustrate this first mode of recording that was pro
posed. Suppose the numbers to be telegraphed are

Y7— 8— 92

The type would be arranged as in the above diagram (3). The record would
show two dots, then a space of five parts, which, being less than nine parts,
determines the two dots to belong to numeral 7, the five parts being its
proper or natural space, and that it is one of a compounded number ; then
follow two similar dots, but followed by a space of eleven parts, which,
consisting of more than nine parts, shows that a space type of six parts has
been inserted, separating this last group from the next ; six parts subtracted
from the eleven parts leave five parts for the proper or natural space of the
last numeral, showing it to be like the first, the numeral 7. Next come
three dots, and also followed by a space of eleven parts, which, consisting
of more than nine parts, isolates the numeral, and shows that a space type
of six parts must be subtracted from the eleven, leaving five parts for the
natural or proper space of the last numeral, indicating, therefore, the nu
meral 8. Then come four dots, followed by a space of five parts, which,
being less than nine parts, shows the four dots to be a numeral belonging
to a compounded number, and that it belongs to the class of the five larger
digits, and indicates the numeral 9. Next come two dots, followed by a
space of three parts, which, being less than nine parts, shows it to belong
to the class of the first five digits, and therefore indicates the numeral 2,
because it is succeeded by the final 1, which is not to be regarded except as
serving to measure the space to determine the character of the previous
numeral.

This method (in the light of my improvements of the code, which very
soon folio wed after the first practical test) seems crude and even impractical,
especially in view of my perfected alphabetic code devised as early as 1835,
and now with some comparatively slight improvements in use through
out the world. But, cumbrous and inconvenient as it was, in its earliest
stages, if compared in its results with the results of the semaphoric modes

APPENDIX. 759

in use at that day, it will be perceived that it was even then a great step in
advance.

A day had scarcely passed after my landing, hefore I commenced the
construction of the invention from the plans and drawings made on hoard the
ship. The signs to he recorded or imprinted it was necessary to embody in
a species of type, the name I gave to the cogged pieces which were to make
the required closings and openings of the circuit of conductors, necessary to
mark or imprint the points or signs for numerals upon the strip of paper
at the regulated intervals of time ; the paper or ribbon having a regular
movement, while the type performed the closing and opening of the circuit
at irregular intervals (and thus broke the continuous line of the regular
movement of the paper into irregular parts at pleasure), and furnished the
means of breaking the line into dots and spaces, in such variety as at once
to enable me not only to construct the numerals, but eventually, as will be
seen by the different combinations of long lines, short lines, or points, and
spaces, all the different letters of the alphabet. The type proposed at
this time consisted of thin strips of type-metal with cogs varied at intervals,
as seen in Diagram 2. These by means of a mechanical movement (here
inafter described) were made and intended for closing and opening the cir
cuit at the desired times. These types, therefore, for imprinting at a dis
tance, were, at that time, an essential part of the machinery in process of
construction ; and having more facilities, immediately on my arrival, for
elaborating these types than for other parts of the machinery, they were the
first constructed. A mould of brass was made and a quantity of the type was
cast before the close of the year 1832. The rest of the machinery, except
a single-cup battery, and a few yards of wire, and the train of wheels of a
wooden clock, which I adapted to the service of unrolling the strip of paper,
I was compelled, from the necessities of my profession, to leave in the con
dition of drawings until I found some more permanent resting-place. From
November, 1832, until the summer of 1835 (two and a half years), I had
changed my residence three times, and was wholly without the pecuniary
means for putting together and embodying the various parts of my inven
tion in one whole. But in July, 1835, 1 took possession of my new home, in
the new building of the New York City University, and I then lost not a
day in collecting the parts and putting into practical form the first rude in
strument which was to demonstrate the operation of the invention. I was
favored with a little leisure from the unfinished condition of the University
building, which impeded the access of visitors to my apartments for my
usual professional duties.

I ought here to say that, with the aid of a single-cup battery, as early
as 1834, previous to my removal to the University, I ascertained that no
visible effect was produced upon numerous salts, which I submitted to
trial by putting them in simple contact with the wire charged with electricity,
as shown in the plan of Diagram 1, proposed for experiment on board the
ship. I succeeded, however, in marking by chemical decomposition, when
the electricity was passed through the moistened paper or cloth, in 1836, in

760

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

the University, but the process was attended with so many inconveniences
that it was laid aside for the moment, not abandoned, that I might give my
attention more directly to the electro-magnetic mode of recording.

If my nomadic mode of life for two years previous, and the condition of
my pecuniary means, be kept in mind; if, also, it be considered that many
of the mechanical facilities in ISTew York, so abundant at the present day,
for embodying the invention, did not exist, and therefore were denied to
me, it will account both for the slowness in completing the instrumentali
ties of my invention, and the rudeness of the first-constructed instrument.
The electro-magnet was not an instrument found for sale in the shops, as at
this day; insulated wire was nowhere to be obtained, except in the small
est quantities, as bonnet-wire of iron wound with cotton thread. Copper
wire was not in use for that purpose, and was sold in the shops by the
pound or yard at high prices and also in very limited quantities.

To form my electro-magnet, I was under the necessity of procuring from
the blacksmith a small rod of iron bent in horseshoe form ; of purchasing
a few yards of copper wire, and of winding upon it, by hand, its cotton-
thread insulation, before I could construct the rude helices of the magnet.
I had already purchased a cheap wooden clock and adapted the train of
wheels to the rate of movement required for the ribbon of paper.

I needed a proper support for the machinery on which to arrange the
various disconnected parts. A stretching-frame for canvas, XX, Diagram
4 (having a bar across the middle), which stood unemployed against the wall
of my atelier, suggested to me a rough but convenient method of putting
into operation the printing or marking of the signs. I nailed it at the
bottom against the edge of a common table. Across the lower part of the
frame I constructed a narrow trough to hold three narrow cylinders of
wood, A B C ; A and 0 small, one on each side of the large cylinder B.
The wooden clock D was placed at one end of this trough. The small
cylinder C next to the clock had a small pulley-wheel fixed upon its pro
longed axis, outside the trough ; a similar pulley- wheel was fixed upon the
prolonged axis of the slower wheels of the train of wheels outside the
clock; these two pulley- wheels were connected by an endless cord or
band.

Upon the other small cylinder A, on the other side of cylinder B, was
wound the ribbon of paper, composed of long strips of paper pasted to
gether, end to end. "When the clock-train was put in movement, the rib
bon of paper was gradually unrolled from its cylinder, and, passing over the
cylinder B, was rolled up upon the cylinder C by means of the cord and
pulleys. To give the weight which moved the clock-train a sufficiently
long space in which to fall, a long rod or strip of wood projecting upward
was nailed to the side of the frame, at the top of which rod was a pulley-
wheel over which the cord attached to the weight E was passed.

Upon the middle of the cross-bar of the frame there was a small shelf
or bracket h to hold the electro-magnet, which was the moving power of
the marking or printing lever.

APPENDIX.

761

The lever was an A-shaped pendulum, F, suspended by its apex at /
from the centre of the top of the frame, directly above the centre of the
cylinder B in the trough below. This lever was made of two thin rules of
wood meeting at the top /, but opening downward about one inch apart,
and joined at the bottom by a transverse bar (which was close to the
paper as it moved over the large cylinder), and another about one inch
above it. Through the centre of these two bars a small tube or pencil-case

DIAGRAM 4.

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.
TYPE.

n-, rLTLriri—. rLTLTLTLn —

I -M 1 s n

EXAMPLE OF IMPRINTING.

W~

456 320

DlAGEAM 4.

g was fixed, through which a pencil loosely played. The pencil had a
small weight upon its top to keep the point in constant contact with the
paper ribhon. Upon the lever directly opposite to the poles of the electro
magnet was fastened the armature of the magnet, or a small har of soft
iron h. The movement of the lever was guided by stops on the frame at
the sides of the lever, permitting to it only a movement forward to, and
back from, the magnet ; the pencil at the bottom of the lever was thus
allowed to advance when the magnet was charged, and to retreat when
discharged, about one-eighth of an inch. The lever advanced by the attrac
tion of the magnet, and retreated by a weight in the first attempts, but im
mediately afterward by the action of a spring.

The first voltaic battery or pile * was of a single pair, I, having one of
its poles connected by a conjunctive wire with one of the helices of the
electro-magnet, and the other pole with one of two cups of mercury K; a
conjunctive wire connected with the other helix of the magnet. The only
part of the voltaic circuit not completed was between the two cups of mer
cury J and K. "When a forked wire upon the lever O 0 united the two
cups J K, the circuit was complete, the magnet was discharged, the arma
ture k was attracted, and the lever F drawn toward the magnet. When
the forked wire was removed the magnet was discharged, and the spring
brought back the lever to its normal position. When the clock-work was
put in motion, the ribbon of paper was drawn over the large cylinder B ;
from the cylinder A, the pencil g on the lever, being in constant contact
with the ribbon of paper, traced a continuous line lengthwise with the rib
bon. When the lever was in a normal position, the line was upon one side
?the ribbon, as at r; when attracted by the magnet to the other limit of its
motion, the line was on the other side, as at s in Diagram 5.

I had at this time a Cruikshank's battery of twelve pairs, but so out of order
as not to be available for experiment.

APPENDIX.

763

The pathway of the pencil-point (when the lever was attracted toward
and held by the magnet for a longer or shorter time, tracing the line «) con
tains the three elements of points, spaces, and lines, forming by their vari
ous combinations the various conventional characters for numerals and
letters. The other line r, traced by the pencil when the lever is in its nor
mal position, may, therefore, be disregarded. Only the variations in the line s
traced by the pencil when the magnet is charged is of importance. A
specimen of these combinations is exhibited in the following diagram (6).

A is the line r in Diagram 5 which the pencil traces when the lever is
in its normal position.

o

764

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

B is the line * in the same diagram which is to contain the conventional
characters to be read as if marked in points, spaces, and lines, as on the line
C below the ribbon of paper. The arrows show the direction of the move
ment of the ribbon of paper when the clock-work is in motion.

n

/1/l/-~M_. /L/M-! AAA— / — L_, AA/ — L_

i Q i i *n I s 1 1 Tn I u i

AAA_y\ AAAA A/ K~Vl_n
^ * ^

w\r~

"Vl_ /H4rt/ — 1_

3 4

DIAGRAM 7.

Supposing the ribbon of paper in motion while the magnet is not

Charged, and the pencil to have commenced marking the upper line at A,

i arriving at d, the circuit is quickly closed and opened again ; the

APPENDIX. 765

pencil is thus drawn a moment to the lower line B, marking a transverse
across and back again, leaving a point in the lower line B. But, as the rib
bon of paper is in motion, the transverse line back again does not return
the way it came, but goes back to e. From e to/ is a space. If the circuit
be closed twice, and at each closing be opened quickly again, there will be
two points left in the line B, followed by another space ; if three times,
there will be three points, and then a longer space, and so on, making one
or more points and spaces at pleasure. But if, instead of opening the cir
cuit quickly, it be kept closed a moment, and then opened, the pencil leaves
a line on the line B, as at F G. Thus points, spaces, and lines, are made at
will. Combinations of these (strictly speaking, broken parts of a continu
ous line) I made in sufficient variety to form my conventional alphabet.
(See Diagram 7.)

At the time of the construction of this first telegraphic instrument, I
had not conceived the idea of the present ~key manipulator dependent on
the skill of the operator, but I presumed that the accuracy of the imprint
ing of signs could only be secured by mechanical mathematical arrange
ments and by automatic process. Hence the first conception, on board the
ship, of embodying the signs in type mathematically divided into points and
spaces. (See Diagram 2.) Hence also the construction of the type-mould,
and castings of the first type, in 1832.

Having ascertained that the machinery I had constructed, rude as it
was, would move the ribbon of paper at a regular speed, and that the pen
cil-lever was obedient to the closing and opening of the circuit, the next
thing to construct was the manipulator or regulator of the closing and
opening of the circuit.

I had already in abundance the type cast in 1832. These were now to
be put in use.

I prepared rules or composing-sticks M (Diagram 4) of about three feet
in length each, formed by two strips of wood, so placed side by side as to
leave a narrow channel large enough to contain the type in desired order
and to allow the cogs of the type to project above the upper edge of the
rules. Through and along the bottom of the rules, projecting downward,
were several needle-points, about one-fourth of an inch in length ; their use
will be perceived presently.

A long trough L L, sufficiently wide to allow of easy passage of the
rules through its length, was constructed with the following parts. Near
each end of this trough were two small cylinders, of wood, L L. On the
prolonged axle of one of them was a hand-crank, and over the two cylin
ders an endless band of worsted tape about one and a half inch in width,
which, when the crank was turned, passed from end to end of the trough.
Midway and across the trough was erected a small frame or bridge N,
within which a wooden lever 0 O was suspended parallel with the endless
band, having its fulcrum at N" at a point about two-thirds its length, but
the longer part reaching from the fulcrum to the end of the trough, on
each side of which under the end of the longer part of the lever were placed

766

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

the two cups of mercury J K. Upon the end of the lever and above the
cups of mercury was fixed a forked wire so bent as to connect both cups
when the end of the lever was depressed, and to disconnect them when it
was raised. At the other or shorter end of the lever a weight P over
balanced the longer part, and on the under side beneath the weight was a
beveled tooth projecting downward. The rule or composing-stick, having
the type set up, was then placed upon the endless band : the needle-points
beneath the rule striking through the band and retaining the rule in its
place. By turning the crank the rule was made to pass beneath the lever.
The first cog of the type, coming in contact with the tooth beneath the
weight of the lever, raised that end and depressed the other, causing the
forked wire to descend into the two cups of mercury, and closing the cir
cuit. "When the cog had passed the tooth, the weight caused the tooth to
fall into the space between the first and second cogs, and the fork at the
other end of the lever to rise out of the cups of mercury, opening the cir
cuit. At each dip of the fork into the cups, the circuit was closed, the mag
net was charged, the armature on the pendulum lever was attracted, and
the pencil passed from the upper line A (Diagram 6) to the lower line B.
When the fork was raised out of the cups the circuit was opened, the mag
net was discharged, and the pendulum lever with its pencil resumed its
normal position by the action of the spring. A repetition of this process,
as the rules with the type passed beneath the tooth on the lever, com
pleted the action of the instrument.

This was the construction and mode of operation of the first recording
instrument for imprinting characters at a distance. In this shape it "pro
duced a new practical result, seen and felt and appreciated ly the senses,"
witnessed, and testified to, by many witnesses as seen in operation in 1835,
1836, 1837. It was undoubtedly an imperfect instrument, but it produced,
then, the same result that is produced more effectively, by more perfectly
made instruments, at this day. It was a result never conceived nor accom
plished before; it was an important practical result for the first time at
tained.

The recording instruments throughout the world at this hour have the
same characteristics as this first rude instrument.

They record or imprint conventional signs, points, spaces, and lines, upon
a ribbon of paper, moved by clock machinery, and by the action of an
electro-magnet, charged and discharged through the agency of electricity,
by means of a single circuit of conductors. The mechanism of to-day is
indeed more beautiful, more finished, more exact, and as varied in form as
the varied forms of the timepiece. The result is consequently more rapidly
produced, but the result is the same as in this original instrument. The
semaphore was then transmuted into a telegraph. The evanescent sign had
become fixed, permanently written or imprinted at a distance.

I have said that the modern instruments have the same characteristics
as the first instrument.

To make clear the identity of the modern recording instruments with

APPENDIX.

767

this recording instrument of 1835, which at first blush may not be so ob
vious, I have made the diagrams (8, 9).

As in the timepiece there is seen every variety of form and arrange
ment of parts to produce the same result (the passage of time), so in the
recording instruments of the present day there is the same variety of form
and arrangement of parts to produce the writing or imprinting, the final
result in all.

m

DIAGRAM 8.

Compare Diagrams 8, 9, with Diagram 4. The letters in each diagram
refer to similar parts in each, so that, in describing one, all are described.
In Diagram 8, the machinery that moves the ribbon of paper is removed
in order the better to show the writing or recording apparatus. F is the
lever; /its fulcrum; h the armature of the electro-magnet affixed to the
lever ; m shows the stylus or marking instrument in Diagrams 8, 9, affixed
to the extremity of the lever, having the fulcrum /bet ween the stylus m
and the armature h. This is the modification in the modern instruments,
while in Diagrams 4 and 9 g shows the stylus affixed to the other ex
tremity of the lever F, having the armature Ti between the stylus g and the
fulcrum/. If, therefore, as in Diagram 9, two ribbons of paper are put in
movement, one before each stylus g and m, it will be seen that g in Dia
gram 9 makes the zigzag marks represented in Diagram 6 like those of g in
the original instrument (Diagram 4), while at the same time, by the same
movement of the lever, the stylus m, at the other exremity of the same
lever, marks the alphabet in points and lines, or dots and dahes, upon its
own ribbon of paper, the characters in universal use at the present day.

It is thus perceived that by prolonging the lever of the modern modifi
cation of the recording instruments beyond the armature Ji toward the cyl
inder B, and affixing a stylus, pen or pencil g, on its extremity, and allow
ing it to be in contact with the moving ribbon of paper, as in the original

768

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

instrument of 1835, the action of the lever F may be made to mark the
original zigzag characters at ^, while the modern points and lines are at
the same time marked by m on its own ribbon of paper. The dotted lines
shadow the original A-shaped lever of Diagram 4, showing the same as
semblage and arrangement of parts as in the original instrument.

It may seem singular to some that the plan of direct up-and-down
movement of the lever, as in Diagrams 8 and 9 at m, to mark upon the
paper (the plan devised on board the ship, and which is now the most uni
versal), should not have been the first that was put in operation, since too

DIAGRAM 9.

it was the first and the most obvious mode devised. Having chosen, how
ever, for economical reasons, the stretching-frame as the most convenient
support ^ at hand for the machinery, it was necessary to adapt the parts to
this choice, even if my results must be attained in a more indirect manner,
is easy to see that the direct action of the lever, as at present cniver-
ally used in the register, would accomplish the result better, and it was
o use almost immediately after the first trial. Lightness in the lever

APPENDIX.

769

was a desideratum, and this seemed to be easiest attained by suspending it
at its fulcrum/, but, especially as & pencil was chosen as the first marking
instrument (Diagram 10), it was supposed to be necessary in some way to
avoid the direct blow of the pencil upon the paper, which was produced
by this mode, but which endangered the point, and therefore the zigzag

DIAGRAM 10.

sliding movement was adopted. The pencil as employed in Diagram 9, at g,
was not the only marking instrument devised and put in operation in the
earlier instruments. Besides the direct action of the pencil as in Diagram
10, fountain-pens of various kinds, one of which is shown in Diagram 11,

DlAGEAM 11.

and a small printing-wheel, as shown in Diagram 12, were used, the latter
being supplied with ink from a sponge with which it was in contact. All
these were used with more or less of success.
49

770

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

The same result, however, to wit, recorded characters representing
numerals and letters, and words and sentences, was given by each of these
modes in this first-constructed instrument as is given in instruments of the
present day. The instrumentalities are the same, and the result the same ;
the only difference is in the mode of using the marking lever.

It will be now perceived that my invention of 1832 had certain very im
portant novel characteristics which distinguished it from all inventions of
a previous date. It was not like any of them.

DIAGRAM 12.

Although the contemplation of static electricity as a means of producing
a permanent record at a distance gave rise in my mind to the conception
of the invention on board the ship, it was not the static form of electricity,
but its dynamic form, which I immediately adopted for carrying into
operation what I had devised. Electricity was proposed to be used by me
neither in the form, nor for the purpose, nor by the same instrumentalities,
as were proposed in the earliest contrivances, say previous to the year 1800.
None of them proposed to record their intelligence. None of them pro
posed or made use of the electro-magnet, for it was not then invented, nor
the scientific basis of it discovered. None of them had invented a system of
signs adapted to recording, for the necessity for them had not arisen. For
the same reason, none had proposed a moving ribbon of paper for receiving
the record. None proposed to use a single circuit of conductors.

In the earliest attempts to use electricity for communicating at a dis
tance, static electricity was the form proposed and attempted. Failure
was the uniform result, not for the lack of ingenuity in the savants of that
day, but from the intractable nature of the form of electricity to which
they were limited. When the dynamic form of electricity became known,
it was at once seized upon as an agent in accomplishing communication at
a distance.

APPENDIX ^71

Still, between the years 1800 and 1832, the means by which that end
was to be accomplished were all semaphoric. Decomposition by dynamic
electricity in the form of gas-bublles, and the deflection of the magnetic
needle, were the sole novelties in the signals of their proposed plans. No
period, therefore, is more strongly isolated from all previous dates than the
date 1832 as the epoch of a new method of applying electricity by the elec
tro-magnet to the creation of a NEW ART, of a new method of communicat
ing to a distance, to wit, recording, a method wholly unlike any previously
imagined or invented.

But the instrument I had devised in 1832, and constructed in 1835 (so
far at least as to demonstrate its practicability to communicate from one
station to a distant station), did not completely embody my whole plan.
This whole plan was not complete until I could, by a duplicate of the in
strument, have the means of a return from that distant station. This was
necessary in order to receive from, as well as to send to, a particular station.
The whole plan, comprised intercommunication, or reciprocal communica
tion.

It is true that any ordinary mind could easily comprehend from the
operation of the single original apparatus that, if precisely the same appa
ratus were used from the receiving station to the sending station, intercom
munication would be complete. JSTo new appliances were necessary. A
duplicate of the instrumentalities already in use from the sending station
to the receiving station was all that was needed to complete my whole plan,
and to establish intercommunication. But this was an affair of finance, and
not of invention. To supply the duplicate required pecuniary means, and
these I had not at command. But the rigidly captious may ask, " Why did
you not borrow the pecuniary means ? " My reply must be that I preferred
the delay, and the hazards of a delay, to the hazard of being unable to
repay a loan. I must be pardoned if I state that, even from my earliest
youth, I ever had the deepest repugnance to incur debt by borrowing, even
from my own relatives. Is it my idiosyncrasy ? If so, the reader will ex
cuse it, and my allusion to it.

By dint of the most rigid economy, I was able slowly to complete and
to add this duplicate, necessary to complete my whole plan. Although the
original single instrument was freely shown to my pupils and to many
friends, I was reluctant to make any more public exhibitions of the inven
tion until this duplicate should be added, and this was done in the early
part of August, 183V. Early in September, I was more free in exhibiting
the invention, and on the 2d and on the 4th of September I showed the in
struments in operation to some hundreds of persons assembled in the large
hall of the University. Most writers on the Telegraph choose to take this
date as the date of my invention. But why, with the facts before them, is
this just? To the existence and previous operation of the essential part
of my whole plan, long before this more public operation of 1837, there
were many witnesses whose evidence is before the courts on oath. But there
are other writers, having ascertained the date of my caveat at the Patent-

r-3 LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

Office on the 6th of October, 1837, and others again who find the date of
the 7th of April, 1838, the date of my application in "Washington for letters-
patent, who choose to consider this latter date as the date of my invention.
To all these I propose a question. Suppose I had never applied for letters-
patent for the invention, but had chosen to give it to the public, or suppose
I had never brought it to France, would there, therefore, be no invention,
and no inventor of it ? Their answer will settle that point.

Between the date, 1835, of the completion of the first instrument and
1837, the date of its more public exhibition, there was a very important
addition to it, which I had already devised and provided against a fore
shadowed exigency, to meet it if it should occur when the conductors were
extended, not to a few hundred feet in length in a room, but to stations
many miles distant. I was not ignorant of the possibility that the electro
magnet might be so enfeebled, when charged from a great distance, as to be
inoperative for direct printing. This possibility was a subject of much
thought and anxiety long previous to the year 1836, long previous to my
acquaintance or consultations with my friend Professor Gale on the subject,
but I had then already conceived and drawn a plan for obviating it. The
plan, however, was so simple that it scarcely needed a drawing to illustrate
it ; a few words sufficed to make it comprehended. If the magnet, say at
twenty miles distant, became so enfeebled as to be unable to print directly,
it yet might have power sufficient to close and open another circuit of
twenty miles farther, and so on until it reached the required station. This
plan was often spoken of to friends previous to the year 1836, but early in
January, 1836, after showing the original instrument in operation to my
Mend and colleague, Professor Gale, I imparted to him this plan of a relay
battery and magnet to resolve his doubts regarding the practicability of
iproducing magnetic power sufficient to write at a distance.

This apprehended difficulty of an enfeebled magnet, as distance increased,
was among the very first subjects of discussion with Professor Gale ; so
soon as my plan for obviating it was revealed to him, it was deemed per
fectly satisfactory. It was not then permanently embodied for use. A
moment's reflection will show why. The relay was not then necessary to
show the final result of the telegraph in the short circuit of less than a
mile arranged around a hall. The operation and result of printing at a dis
tance was complete without it. But the frequent objection made by vis
itors that the instrument shown them might answer well enough for an in
teresting philosophical experiment in a class-room, but would not operate
at a distance, at length induced me not merely to explain the relay by words
and diagrams, but, so soon as I could command another magnet, to embody
it in proper form.

This plan of the relay thus made in the spring of 1837 was productive of
an important incident of great consequence to me in the prosecution of my
nvention. A few days after the more public exhibition of the telegraph,

late Alfred Yail, Esq. (then a student in the University, who was pres
ent at the exhibition on the 4th of September), became so fascinated with

APPENDIX. 773

the invention that he called to have it more perfectly explained to him.
The usual objection that it would not operate at a distance was a bar to his
belief in its success. No sooner, however, had I explained the operation of
the relay, than he desired an interest in the invention, and, to procure this
interest, he offered to negotiate with his father and brother to supply the
funds necessary to have constructed such a telegraphic instrument as would
demonstrate to the United States Congress, and to the country, its practi
cability and utility. Thus the invention of the relay was the immediate
cause of the construction of the apparatus which was shown to Congress in
Washington in the winter of 1837-1838.

The simple and effective instruments as modified by Messrs. Digney
Freres, of Paris, embody the distinctive features of my invention more to
my satisfaction than any of. the French instruments. There is a modifica
tion which they have made, however, which requires a few remarks to
prevent misapprehension in regard to its exact nature. In reading
the excellent work of M. Brequet, p. 163, in his chapter " Morse Regis-
ter marking the signs in ink" " Recepteur Morse faisant les signaux d Ven-
cre," I find some things to correct. A wrong impression is made in de
scribing the mode of embossing the characters by a a steel point, " a gau-
frage," as if that were my only original mode of marking. This is not the
fact ; a pencil, a fountain-pen, and the small printing-wheel by which ink
was used, were among the first modes of marking. There were many modes
of marking which I devised and tried, but experience alone could settle
which was best ; the pencil and pen and small printing- wheel with ink
were the original modes in use ; the steel point (Diagram 13), for emboss
ing the character, was invented some time after, and patented as an im-

DlAGEAM 13.

provement, since it dispensed with ink ; M. Brequet gives to Thomas John,
of Prague, the invention of the small printing-wheel, "unemolette ou rou
lette," to mark the characters, and states that he received for his invention
a platina medal from the Society of Encouragement.

That Mr. Thomas John made his improvement independently, without
a knowledge of the fact that I had it in use nearly twenty years before, I
have no doubt, but it is nevertheless true that the introduction of this ink
ing wheel is not a novelty : whatever of novelty there is in its present use

-^ LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

consists in the mode of its application, and in the beautiful apparatus con
structed by Messrs. Digney Freres the mode, so far as I know, is new.
The mode of application of Mr. John is different from mine and from
Messrs. Digneys'. My original mode (its first use) was by bringing down the
printing-wheel, inked from a sponge, upon the paper. Mr. John brings the
printing-wheel against the paper from the side.

My caveat, filed in the Patent-Office in Washington on the 6th of Octo
ber, 1837, in describing the register, specifies: "3. A pencil, or fountain-
pen, or a small printing-wheel, or any other marking material ; " and the

DIAGRAM 14.

mode of using the wheel is also described, thus : "When the printing-wheel
is used, the wheel is brought in contact with the paper by the magnet when
required to mark." The wheel in my first experiments, inked by a sponge,
was brought down upon the paper ; Mr. John's mode of applying the wheel,
inked in a reservoir, was by bringing it against the paper from the side,
while Messrs. Digneys' mode was bringing the paper against the wheel
inked by a felt roller. This latter mode I conceive to be a substantial im
provement, since it combines delicacy with efficiency, and requires so much
less power for the operation that even the relays can be dispensed with on
lines of considerable extent. My original mode of using the printing-wheel
by ink from a sponge I found so inconvenient, from its constant tendency
to soil the paper, and the fountain-pens of every variety of form so unreli-

APPENDIX. 775

able, that the steel point "a gaufrage" (Diagram 13) I considered at the
time a great improvement, since it gave the characters with certainty, with
out the inconvenience of constant attention and the dirt and accidents of
the ink.

If, then, judged by the first rule laid down by Dr. Russell, I claim to be
the inventor of the first recording telegraph (not to say, strictly speaking,
tliQ first real telegraph), am I not " the first who produced the practical re
sult which, however imperfect, gave a result which was seen, and felt, and
appreciated, by the senses? " Am I not, according to this rule, "the true
maker and inventor whom the world should recognize, no matter how
much may have been done by others to improve my work? "

Let me not be misunderstood as appropriating to myself the credit of
the many modifications of the telegraph that have since been made in every
part of the world, because I claim the invention of the generic telegraph. I
do not pretend that the mechanism of the first forms of the telegraph was
not rude, and even uncouth when compared with the beautiful workman
ship of the European ateliers, of the hundreds of accomplished mechani
cians who have brought to the work their incomparable ingenuity and
skill, but I think I may justly claim that the essential characteristics of a
new artwQTQ demonstrated even in the rudest instruments, constructed in
the earliest times of the invention. So suggestive were the novelties in
troduced by the promulgation of the new art, so wide the field which it
opened for investigation in science and mechanics, that it would be strange
indeed if modifications of the separate elements that made up the whole
invention should not at once be conceived and produced. And yet I may
appeal to the fact generally acknowledged that the essential features of the
original invention have not been obliterated ; they can be easily and dis
tinctly traced through all the improvements made in the various parts by
which the different processes of the art have been more easily performed.

776

LIFE OF SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.

MORSE'S TELEGRAPHIC ALPHABET.

THE Telegraphic Alphabet represents each letter of the English alpha
bet, with the numerals, by which any amount of writing or correspondence
may be conducted, in all the details of letters and words of the common
mode of correspondence, or writing.

ALPHABET.

A
B

c

D
E
F

GJ
H
IY
K
L
M
N
O
P

Q

K
SZ
T
U
Y
W
X

NUMERALS.

THE END.

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